Dulce est Decorum Est Flashcards
1
Q
“Bent double like old beggars”
A
- Simile depicts soldiers as decrepit and confined
- Incongruity of ‘beggars’ contrast typic illustrations of soldirs
- Forces reader to contemplate fallacy of war
2
Q
“GAS GAS… An ecstasy of fumbling”
A
- Owen manipulates sentence structure, reflecting urgencyof soldiers as they struggle to fit masks on in time
3
Q
“In all my dreams”
A
- Incongruity as dreams have connotations of hope and serenity, whereas war is hell
- Evokes sympathy, as their last moments of serenity ended as they entered war
- Reference to Post-war was never over for them
4
Q
“Guttering, choking and drowning”
A
- Triplet, emphasise visual and auditory imagery
- Coupled with disjointed, enjambed, rhythm suggests a horrific image
5
Q
“Wagon that we flung him in”
A
- ‘flung’ has strong connotations of carelessness ; last remaining life was flung away
- Suggests severe dehumanisation and objectification in face of war
6
Q
‘gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs’
A
- auditory imagery
- ‘corrupted’ = damage that should not be there
unflinching visceral depiction of the effect of gas involving the senses
7
Q
“The old Lie: Ducle… Pro patria mori”
A
- Capitalisation of ‘lie’ emphasises delusions men are fed in order to join army
- Written in Latin, archaic, suggesting message is outdated
- Bitter irony, forces reader to understand not sweet fitting to die for cunch
