Point, Quotation, Comments on ‘Dulce et decorum est’
Owen shows the horrors of war by describing the soldiers and disgraceful conditions. They were forced to fight whilst “Men marched asleep.” No matter how tired the men were, they were still forced to carry on and continue to fight for victory! Their battle was tougher as “Many had lots their boots, but limped on blood-shod.” Men would have been in severe pain, but the want of victory overtook them. * In the poem Owen uses irony to create a strong impression on the reader and also to show the traumatic truth of war. Owen’s comment about ‘floundering like a man in fire or lime.’ Shows irony in a clear and graphically descriptive way. The use of the word ‘floundering’ gives the impression of drowning that is also referred to later on, the, way irony is used here is that when someone ‘flounders’ they are under water. This is a contrast to the idea of fire, therefore introducing a leavel of poetic irony. It is impossible to burn to death under water so having the ability to burn while floundering is ironic. * Owen shows the horrors of war in ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by using a sense of urgency he quotes “Gas! GAS! Quick boys!” This shows a sense of urgency because he uses repetition, exclamation marks and capital letters. Capital letters show a sense of urgency because it is bold and it catches your attention which is what he was trying to do. * In this poem, we are shown many horrors of war. It mentions that the treatment of victims was poor. When it mentions about “the wagon they flung him in,” it suggest that they didn’t have times to care for friends and family. Everybody was treated just the same, flung in to the wagon. The emotive word flung makes you think of something besides a human body. They had to let their feelings go. * Owen said, ‘To children Ardent from some desperate glory’, Which translates to, the boys are being sent to war because when...