World War 1 Poem

World War I more than any other war is associated with the ideology of the ‘war poets’. During the war and immediately after it, series of poems were written not only extolling the glory of war but also of anti-nationalism. Two very famous war poems, Dulce et Decorum Est by Witfred Owen and The Soldier by Rupert Brooke exemplify the misery of soldiers’ as well as the honour of war and patriotism. On the face of it, Dulce et Decorum Est has some characteristics that make it similar to The Soldier. Both poems deal with the theme of death and were written during the Great War. However, on closer examination it is obvious that there are also several fundamental differences that exist between the two poems.

      The principal similarity between the two poems is they talk about death. In both poems, the authors use first person narration to convey the invited reading to the readers. The Soldiers is a preparation of death and through the death of a soldier for his country, Brooke emphasises the honour and glory of war. In Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen deals with death by describing how his comrade died in a gas attack. Another area of similarity is both poems were composed by soldiers who participated in The Great War. The Soldier was written at the beginning of the First World War and Dulce et Decorum Est came out later during the war. Therefore, in term of the theme and composing time, both poems are quite similar.

      Nevertheless, despite these similarities, Dulce et Decorum Est is very distinct from The Soldier. This is because of the fundamental differences that exist in their purposes, the invited reading, the ideologies and the discourses. These differences appear throughout the two poems, and hence serve to clearly distinguish one from the other.

      The most significant difference between Dulce et Decorum Est and The Soldier is in the poet’s purpose. Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum Est to address the horror and reality of war and to set this horror...