Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est
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- Date Submitted: 09/28/2011 05:39 PM
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"Dulce Et Decorum Est" and "Disabled" were poems written by Welsh poet Wilfred Owen, during World War One. Owen's poetry is known for its condemnation of war as well as the mortifying imagery brought forth in his reader's minds, realization of war shocking them as Owen wholly intended. Owen also intended to enlighten his readers to the disillusionment men endured during and even after World War One.
Owen uses sound techniques, namely onomatopoeia, effectively in Dulce to allow the reader to almost hear the brutal sounds of war and feel as if they're the valiant men marching asleep, drearily escaping the 'hoots of gas shells dropping softly behind'. He does this to express the truth of war in order to highlight how disillusioned the men felt when reality hit home. They realized that war was not glorious; it was a sugar-coated killer: gruesome, merciless and perhaps most dauntingly of all to the soldiers, war was inescapable. Once tangled up in all the ruckus, there was no turning back. Until the war had come to an end, death was the only escape. An example of onomatopoeia used by Owen to show this disillusionment was 'In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning'. The use of the words guttering and choking emphasizes the agony the dying man is suffering and brings forth sympathy from the reader. The reader can imagine the petrified man plunging at them, their eyes pleading for the reader to somehow save him from such an awful fate; the shaken up reader only gazes back with a helpless sight, knowing there is nothing they can do to save the man. Owen effectively creates a connection of compassion between the reader and the dying man.
Owen uses imagery effectively in Disabled to allow the reader to picture the alienation the disabled soldier feels after returning from war. The reader is introduced to the hopeless thoughts that haunt the soldier's mind, like never being fully independent as well as never again being...
Owen uses sound techniques, namely onomatopoeia, effectively in Dulce to allow the reader to almost hear the brutal sounds of war and feel as if they're the valiant men marching asleep, drearily escaping the 'hoots of gas shells dropping softly behind'. He does this to express the truth of war in order to highlight how disillusioned the men felt when reality hit home. They realized that war was not glorious; it was a sugar-coated killer: gruesome, merciless and perhaps most dauntingly of all to the soldiers, war was inescapable. Once tangled up in all the ruckus, there was no turning back. Until the war had come to an end, death was the only escape. An example of onomatopoeia used by Owen to show this disillusionment was 'In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning'. The use of the words guttering and choking emphasizes the agony the dying man is suffering and brings forth sympathy from the reader. The reader can imagine the petrified man plunging at them, their eyes pleading for the reader to somehow save him from such an awful fate; the shaken up reader only gazes back with a helpless sight, knowing there is nothing they can do to save the man. Owen effectively creates a connection of compassion between the reader and the dying man.
Owen uses imagery effectively in Disabled to allow the reader to picture the alienation the disabled soldier feels after returning from war. The reader is introduced to the hopeless thoughts that haunt the soldier's mind, like never being fully independent as well as never again being...