Dulce et decorum est

Question 1

Title

Answer 1

Owen subverts this patriotic pro-war sentiment and uses the pro-war phrase in an ironic way to highlight his first-hand experience of the horrors of war.

Question 2

Stanza 1 - Octet

Answer 2

• similes ‘like old beggars under sacks’ emphasize how broken and weak war has left the soldiers.
  Comparing the young soldiers to ‘old beggars’ – highlights soldiers’ loss of youth.
  Comparing the young men to ‘hags’ – takes away their masculinity - images immediately juxtapose the title with a negative or realistic view of war.
• enjambment between lines 3-4 and 5-6 has the effect of continuing the lines without a break, mirroring the long tiring journey ahead of the soldiers. This image of fatigue is magnified by the semantic of exhaustion – ‘cursed’ / ‘trudge’ / ‘Men marched asleep’ / ‘But limped on’ / ‘Drunk with fatigue’.
• ‘Drunk with fatigue’ – metaphor emphasizes their exhaustion and inability to function. This is further shown by the fact that the soldiers were so ‘deaf’ that it sounded like the gas shells were dropping softly. This oxymoron highlights the soldiers’ exhaustion; the world makes no sense to them.

Question 3

Stanza 2 - Sestet

Answer 3

• Repetition of gas and use of the three exclamation marks in such close proximity creates a sense of urgency highlighting a sense of panic.
• sudden change in pace from previous octet - life and death situation
• ‘Ecstasy of fumbling’ depicts soldiers as unprepared for the gas attacks – archaic word ‘ecstasy’ conveys madness - contrasts the traditional image of soldiers who are usually able to cope in a cool calm and collected way.
• Owen uses long sentences spanning multiple lines to emphasize how vivid the narrator’s and his memories are – highlights how the conflict has left him mentally scarred.
• simile – ‘like a man in fire or lime’ has connotations of being on fire – ‘lime’ refers to a highly corrosive substance which rips the flesh apart – violent image highlights the fear and chaos surrounding gas attacks in WW1.

Question 4

Stanza 3 - Couplet

Answer 4

• Repetition of drowning continues the alternate ABAB rhyme scheme - the detachment of this couplet from the second stanza makes the poem structure seem deformed reflecting the way soldiers have been damaged by war.
• The use of three present continuous ‘-ing’ verbs (guttering, choking, drowning) implies that this event is repeatedly playing out in the persona’s imagination - they cannot escape what they have seen. Verb ‘guttering’ has connotations of a candle going out – young soldier’s life is extinguished.

Question 5

Stanza 4 - 1

Answer 5

• The final stanza is directly addressing the reader (pro-war supporters or Jessie Pope) by using the pronoun ‘you’ – achieves a more reflective and explanatory tone compared to the more direct descriptive tone in the rest of the poem.
• ‘Smothering’ suggests the dreams are violent and suffocating – connotes shellshock suffered by soldiers after war.
• The verb ‘flung’ shows the carelessness with which the body of the young man is treated
• Alliterative phrase ‘watch the white eyes writhing’ emphasizes the horror of the image – word “writhe” means to twist or contort out of shape – highlights the painful and torturous nature of his death.
• Sensory description - onomatopoeia “gargling” - coveys horrors of war – contrasts ironically with the first stanza where soldiers are ‘deaf’ due to exhaustion.
• simile “obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud” – Owen uses harsh consonants ‘c’, ‘b’ and ‘t’ spit out his disgust – graphic similes intensify dying soldier’s suffering.

Question 6

Stanza 4 - 2

Answer 6

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

• Owen rejects the pro-war sentiment that it is ‘sweet and proper to die for one’s country’. He is able to reject this sentiment with authority, as he has seen people die for their country, and has seen how excruciating and horrific it is.
• The use of Latin makes this phrase sound prestigious and traditional also suggesting that people don’t fully understand what they’ll face if they fight for their country.

Question 7

quotes

Answer 7

Stanza 1 - Octet

• similes ‘like old beggars under sacks’
• Comparing the young men to ‘hags’
• enjambment between lines 3-4 and 5-6 has
• semantic of exhaustion – ‘cursed’ / ‘trudge’ / ‘Men marched asleep’ / ‘But limped on’ / ‘Drunk with fatigue’.

Stanza 2 - Sestet

• Repetition of gas and use of the three exclamation marks in close proximity
• ‘Ecstasy of fumbling’
• Owen uses long sentences spanning multiple lines
• simile – ‘like a man in fire or lime’

Stanza 3 - Couplet

• Repetition of drowning continues the alternate ABAB rhyme scheme
• The use of three present continuous ‘-ing’ verbs - guttering, choking, drowning

Stanza 4 - 1

• using the pronoun ‘you’
• ‘Smothering’ suggests the dreams are violent and suffocating
• The verb ‘flung’
• Alliterative phrase ‘watch the white eyes writhing’
• Sensory description - onomatopoeia “gargling”
• simile “obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud”

Stanza 4 - 2

• Owen rejects the pro-war sentiment that it is ‘sweet and proper to die for one’s country’. - The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
  Pro patria mori.