Register to read the introduction…
Another word that Wilfred Owen used, and that I have decided to comment on, is the word blood-shod. Although not used often nowadays, in this poem it is used to describe the visual state of the soldiers, covered in blood. It seems a dehumanizing image, as they are crushed by the constant strains of battle.
The first verse, like the second, is written in sonnet form, however the rhythm loosens towards the end of the first verse as it leads up to an important moment at the beginning of the …show more content…
This is shown as Wilfred addresses ‘my friend,’ in line 25. This is actually Jessie Pope, who wrote many patriotic poems encouraging young men, much like Owen, to sign up and ‘do their duty.’ Owen was completely disgusted by the way war was portrayed towards the masses in Pope’s well-known poem Who’s for the Game? and wanted to change the opinions of the public and show them what war was really like, for the common, light infantry foot soldier. He says, ‘my friend, you would not tell with such high zest,’ meaning that Pope wouldn’t think the way she did if she knew the true extent of the suffering.
To end the poem, Wilfred Owen uses a controversial and slightly outlandish term, lie. This is especially bizarre as it is criticizing the beliefs of at least 80% of Britons at the time, including the monarch, government and high-ranking officials in the military. To put it in context (literally) the ending goes:
The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum
The first verse, like the second, is written in sonnet form, however the rhythm loosens towards the end of the first verse as it leads up to an important moment at the beginning of the …show more content…
This is shown as Wilfred addresses ‘my friend,’ in line 25. This is actually Jessie Pope, who wrote many patriotic poems encouraging young men, much like Owen, to sign up and ‘do their duty.’ Owen was completely disgusted by the way war was portrayed towards the masses in Pope’s well-known poem Who’s for the Game? and wanted to change the opinions of the public and show them what war was really like, for the common, light infantry foot soldier. He says, ‘my friend, you would not tell with such high zest,’ meaning that Pope wouldn’t think the way she did if she knew the true extent of the suffering.
To end the poem, Wilfred Owen uses a controversial and slightly outlandish term, lie. This is especially bizarre as it is criticizing the beliefs of at least 80% of Britons at the time, including the monarch, government and high-ranking officials in the military. To put it in context (literally) the ending goes:
The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum