Dulce Flashcards
Themes
Anger at the Home Front
Suffering
Reality of war
Duty
“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”
simile presents an image of an emasculated man. This utterly contrasts with the stereotypical image of a soldier.
“The hoots of tried, outstripped Five Nines that dropped behind”
Personification of shells connotes that they are exhausted emph the brutality and relentless nature of war.
“Gas! Gas! Quick boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling”
The direct speech emph the chaos of the trenches. The noun “ecstasy” is an antithesis as it implies intense excitement but no pleasurable. Perhaps ecstatic with panic
“As under a green sea, i saw him drowning”
Can be interpreted as literal or metaphorical. Describes a soldier in a helpless state.
“In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, be plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning.”`
The present tense and repetition of ‘drowning’ suggest that this moment is a reoccurring nightmare to the
speaker. Conventional poetic technique are corrupted and tainted by Owen to symbolise the breakdown of societies’ values.
“Obscene as cancer, bitter as cud”
Similes emph the violent suffering the soldiers aer subjected to in the trenches.
“My friend, you would not tell with such high zest”
Perhaps speaking directly to propaganda poet Jessie Pope. Critical of her. Also hinted at this anger in title. Quotes Horace a latin poet under Caesar. As it alludes back to classical times, Owen perhaps demostating that this view is outdated.
Structure
Subverts sonnet form, emph how societies’ views have changes in regards to war.
