The Tragic End Wilfred Owen was a riveting poet that tragically lived a short life due to the brutality of war. In his poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Owen depicts the violent reality of soldiers in the middle of a war zone. Owen’s history of being in war greatly fueled this poem. At the end of the poem he sheds some light on the idea that it is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country. He is greatly against this idea calling it an old lie. Owen uses his life experiences and historical background to expose the lie Dulce et decorum est Pro Patria mori (It is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country). Although Owen died at the young age of twenty-five, many say that he was knowledgeable way beyond his years. Owen was very close to his
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Men have been known to drown in them. Many stuck in the mud and only got on by leaving their waders, equipment, and in some cases their clothes”(72). Owen references this in lines thirteen through sixteen, “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, [a]s under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight [h]e plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”(Owen). Owen uses such strong language to depict this harshness of a man drowning in the sludge that they were wading through. With their clothes dragging them down they trudged through the thick clay in the middle of a war zone. In line two Owen says, “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” referencing the sludge yet again. The vivid language like knock-kneed and curse makes the harshness of war sound unbearable. Potter again states from Owen’s letter,” O sir-my eyes- I’m blind,-I’m blind.’ [c]oaxing, I held a flame against his lids [a]nd said if he could see the least blurred light [h]e was not blind; in time they’d get all right”(73). In one line of Owen’s poem, “All went lame, all blind”(6), he references people going blind because of the green smoke. His language here is describing in a very vivid way how terrible the war was and how it not …show more content…
Hideous landscapes, vile noises, foul language and nothing but foul, even from one’s own mouth…everything unnatural, broken, blasted; the distortion of the dead, whose unburiable bodies sit outside the dug-outs all day, all night, the most execrable sights on earth”(164). Owen is commenting on the hideousness of where he is. He is literally in the trenches. He is saying that it smells, its wet and the men around him are “foul” with their language and their appearances. He is right next to dead bodies that can not be buried, either being from being blown up or the ground is too wet to dig holes for them. In Owen’s poem they are in a really wet area he calls sludge. They loose their boots walking through the mud.
In conclusion, Owen was incredible knowledgeable man who lived a very short life. His poem brought to life the harshness and the violence of the war. He brings the idea that is not sweet to fight for one’s country. War is cruel and brutal. He uses his life experiences to give credibility to his work and its his inspiration to his poetry. All in all, Owen was a talented poet and his death in the brutality of war brings life even more so to his poems about the reality of
Men have been known to drown in them. Many stuck in the mud and only got on by leaving their waders, equipment, and in some cases their clothes”(72). Owen references this in lines thirteen through sixteen, “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, [a]s under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight [h]e plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”(Owen). Owen uses such strong language to depict this harshness of a man drowning in the sludge that they were wading through. With their clothes dragging them down they trudged through the thick clay in the middle of a war zone. In line two Owen says, “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” referencing the sludge yet again. The vivid language like knock-kneed and curse makes the harshness of war sound unbearable. Potter again states from Owen’s letter,” O sir-my eyes- I’m blind,-I’m blind.’ [c]oaxing, I held a flame against his lids [a]nd said if he could see the least blurred light [h]e was not blind; in time they’d get all right”(73). In one line of Owen’s poem, “All went lame, all blind”(6), he references people going blind because of the green smoke. His language here is describing in a very vivid way how terrible the war was and how it not …show more content…
Hideous landscapes, vile noises, foul language and nothing but foul, even from one’s own mouth…everything unnatural, broken, blasted; the distortion of the dead, whose unburiable bodies sit outside the dug-outs all day, all night, the most execrable sights on earth”(164). Owen is commenting on the hideousness of where he is. He is literally in the trenches. He is saying that it smells, its wet and the men around him are “foul” with their language and their appearances. He is right next to dead bodies that can not be buried, either being from being blown up or the ground is too wet to dig holes for them. In Owen’s poem they are in a really wet area he calls sludge. They loose their boots walking through the mud.
In conclusion, Owen was incredible knowledgeable man who lived a very short life. His poem brought to life the harshness and the violence of the war. He brings the idea that is not sweet to fight for one’s country. War is cruel and brutal. He uses his life experiences to give credibility to his work and its his inspiration to his poetry. All in all, Owen was a talented poet and his death in the brutality of war brings life even more so to his poems about the reality of