Examples Of Figurative Language In Dulce Et Decorum Est

Dulce et Decorum Est Dying for one’s country in a battle is often depicted as one of the most honorable and noble things to do. The reality is that war is not heroic at all, but has in fact been romanticized before being presented to the public. In Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est he illustrates to the reader his realistic and terrible depiction of dying for one’s country through precise diction, moving imagery, and beautiful figurative language. Wilfred Owen uses precise diction in many moments to demonstrate his view of World War 1. Owen describes the men as they “cursed through sludge” (Owen). The choice of diction here provides insight as to how he feels about being sent to a war in a different country. With the use of “cursed” he implies that the men did not want to be there, as if they cursed the very act of walking away from a battle. The men might have been happy after leaving the battlefield but instead they are cursing every step; they don’t feel they belong there and neither does Owen. This diction reveals how …show more content…
Owen writes the men were “bent double, like old beggars under sacks” (Owen). The simile between the men and old beggars not only provides an image of what they looked like, but perhaps also an insight into how he perceives they will end up after the war. Owen feels that the men that survive the ruthless war may become nothing but beggars under sacks because neither the government nor their families will take care of them. The reigning notion that dying honorably in war was the best way to die was completely wrong and in reality the exact opposite was true – such deaths were horrible and tragic. Owen subtly implies that if they are wounded, but not killed, that they will never become more than “beggars under sacks” for the remainder of their life. This simile conveys much more than just an image and exemplifies Owen’s use of figurative language in his