Dulce Et Decorum Est

In ‘Dulce et decorum est’ Wilfred Owen uses similies like ‘old beggars under sacks’ to show how awful it was in the trenches as we imagine the soldiers as young fit and healthy, not like beggars who are old, weak and grey we. Owen also uses the phrase ‘as under a green sea’ which is a similie and a metaphor to describe gas attacks; he shows that being caught in a gas attack was a struggle, like drowning in a inescapable sea, not quick and painless and shows how brutal war was and that it wasn’t about just fighting, but a lot of men were dying out there in a painful and harsh way not peacefully as their families would want them to.

In ‘The Soldier’ Rupert Brooke uses the metaphor ‘gave once her flowers to love’ to show the soldier wants to give England a gift which is beautiful and that is part of the reason he has gone to war, to give England what he thinks it deserves. Brooke also uses the metaphor ‘her sights and sounds; dreams happy has her day’ to show that the people of england are happy that evil far from them and that England was a happy, bright and care-free country.

In conclusion ‘Dulce et decorum est’ describes what it was like in the trenches and the conditions the soldiers were living in. It tells people at home how awful it was and shows the truth behind world war 1. It also shows that the soldiers were unwillingly watching the painful and harsh deaths of their friends every day. ‘The soldier’ tells the soldiers thoughts and shows they are fighting for England, not themselves. It also shows how they saw the war, which was not as a painful, horrible experience but as way to protect their friends and families and their country.