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Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen analysis (Grade 9)
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Indepth notes for the WJEC English Literature (9-1) specification.
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Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen (P.18)Narrative Wilfred Owen describes the hardship soldiers face every day, describing as they “trudge” through the trenches
and as they are subjected to a gas attack. This leads to the death of one soldier.
Contexts Wilfred Owen fought in World War I. Initially, people were naïve and excited about the thought of fighting
Germans, expecting it to be over by Christmas. Wilfred Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum Est in response as he
wanted to show the brutality and horrors of war. Written in 1918. Wilfred Owen died two days before the end of
the war and the poem was published posthumously.
Themes Warfare – Unlike poetry at Suffering – We see both phycological Patriosm – Despite its patriotic title,
the beginning of the war, and physical suffering in this poem, Wilfred Owen shares his pessimism
Owen is realistic in portraying the latter which haunts the soldier on the jingoism spread by the
the war. throughout his life. government throughout the war.
Literary Simile - Owen’s use of a simile in the Immediacy is created through the repetition and how Owen
Devices description of the soldiers as “bent double, slips into the dialogue seamlessly, creating a sense of chaos.
like beggars under sacks” can be interpreted The juxtaposition of this with the melancholic and reserved
to imply they are being crippled physically and mood of the previous stanza is startling. Furthermore the use of
mentally by the war. Either way, this in gerunds in “stumbling” and “yelling” makes it feel as it is
inglorious and diminutive state – this is stark occurring right now. This combined with the ambiguity of
contrast to propaganda that almost always referring to the soldier as “somebody” would have proved
depicted a soldier standing tall, chest out – effective with audiences back home as, for all they known, the
proud. It is Owen’s intentions to reveal this as dying soldier could be their husband, their father, their son.
unrealistic.
Irony – Wilfred Owen uses irony to express his pessimistic and sardonic view of war. This is seen in the sarcastic
use of the Latin phrase “Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori” (which translates to “it is a sweet and
honourable thing to die for your country”) in shortened form for the title and the final line of the poem. This line
juxtaposes the content of the poem, depicting harrowing imagery that appears to stick the soldiers for years
afterwards. Furthermore, “ecstasy” makes for an out-of-place word choice when describing the fumbling of the
men to put on their gasmasks, which is anything but rapturous. Combining this elevated language with the chaos
makes the dire experience feel out of proportion. This highlights the difference between the war as presented to
wives and families back home and the real thing.
Key “Distant rest” is ambiguous and considering Towards the end of the first stanza, there is sense of weariness
Language the pessimistic nature of the poem could intend brought on by the descriptions of the men being “drunk with
to be their deaths. The verb to “trudge” could fatigue” and “death”, depicting how all the men are disabled
imply the slow-moving nature of trench by their trauma but also how they have become overwhelmed
warfare in the First World War. As deadlock by the strains of the battle. Even the gas shells seem tired and
occurred early on there was little progress up outstripped, being dropped “softly behind” – the whole world
until the final years of the war. of war seems tired out and on its last legs.
The repetition of “green” The language compared to the image of the dead man flung behind the wagon
when describing the are cacophonous and hard-hitting, conveying the obscenity of war: “Obscene
surrounding fog allows our as cancer, bitter as the cud”. Furthermore, the sibilance in “face” and
sense of the scene unfold upon “devil’s sick of sin” is an example of aural technique that forces the readers to
itself, exposing the reader to hiss. With the mention of the devil already present, it is not a stretch to link this
the experience. scene to ungodliness – the devil.
Form and The poem begins in iambic pentameter, but over the course of the poem this is dismantled – depicting the chaos of
Meter the soldier’s mind through the chaos of the form, falling apart until it is very different to how it started.
Structure By ending the sentence (“Men marched sleep.”) in Lines 15 and 16 are singles out into their own short
the middle of a line, it creates a caesura, which stanza to convey the shift in time – between the past and
underscores the terseness of the poem at this point. the present. Through this jump into the future, we are
The choppiness of lines six and seven also convey able to understand the significance of the event and how
this terseness, being abrupt – contrasting the long it has left the soldier mentally scarred, with the dying
drawn-out ‘L’ sounds that are very much present in man appearing in “all his dreams, before his helpless
the preceding sentence. sight”.
The final line “Pro patria mori” is the only line that doesn’t follow a pentameter, which creates a deathly silence
at the end of the poem for a listener used to hearing the fairly regular pattern and rhyme scheme.
Compares with… The Soldier by Rupert Brookes Mametz Wood by Owen Sheers
Quotations to remember
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, … towards our distant rest began to trudge
… we curse through sludge,
… All went lame; all blind; Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots …
Of gas shells dropping softly behind. But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green line, In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
… To children ardent for some desperate glory,
Obsene as cancer, bidder as the cud The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
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