Dulce et Decorum Est

Question 1

When did Own enlist to fight in WW1 and at what age?

Answer 1

In 1915, aged 18

Question 2

Why was Owen critical to his fellow troops?

Answer 2

Due to their poor behaviour. He called them ‘expressionless lumps’ in a letter to his mother.

Question 3

What happened to Owen in 1916?

Answer 3

He fell into a shell hole and suffered concussion. He was blown up by a trench mortar, and spent several days lying amongst the remains of his fellow officers.

Question 4

What was he diagnosed with?

Answer 4

Shellshock.

Question 5

Where was Own sent for treatment after his shell shock diagnosis?

Answer 5

Edinburgh.

Question 6

Who did Owen meet in Edinburgh?

Answer 6

Another WW1 soldier poet, Siegfried Sassoon. They became friends and Sassoon influenced Owen’s writing.

Question 7

When did Owen return to active services and decide to serve in France?

Answer 7

July 1918

Question 8

What did Owen see his duty as?

Answer 8

To add his voice to Sassoon’s and tell the harsh reality of WW1 warfare (Sassoon had been shot in the head and put on sick-leave for the rest of the war).

Question 9

What was Owen awarded and when?

Answer 9

In August 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery and leadership. He desperately wanted this so that he could prove that he was a war poet.

Question 10

When did Owen die?

Answer 10

In battle, a week before WW1 ended.

Question 11

What was Owen writing in direct opposition of?

Answer 11

WW1 propaganda, as he didn’t want war to be glorified.

Question 12

What was a popular weapon in WW1?

Answer 12

Chlorine gas.

Question 13

What does ‘dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ mean?

Answer 13

‘It is sweet and proper to die for one’s country’. These lines were commonly used by pro-war supporters.

Question 14

Give 4 pieces of context about Jessie Pope’s ‘Who’s For the Game?’ poem:

Answer 14

-Propaganda poem published originally in The Daily Mail, early on in WW1 (Around 1916, early enough for men to still want to enlist but not too early where people were naive about war)

-Encouraged men to enlist, using rhetorical questions to persuade - or pressure them to do so

-An idealised depiction of war is given, harsh realities ignored

-This could be an example of ‘the old lie’ told ‘with such high zest’

Question 15

‘Bent ______, like ___ ______ under ____,’

Answer 15

‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,’

Question 16

‘_____-_____, ________ like hags, we ______ through sludge,’

Answer 16

‘Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,’

Question 17

‘Till on the _______ _____ we turned our _____’

Answer 17

‘Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs’

Question 18

‘Men ________ ______.’

Answer 18

‘Men marched asleep.’

Question 19

‘Many had ____ their _____ But ______ on,’

Answer 19

‘Many had lost their boots But limped on,’

Question 20

‘_____-shod.’

Answer 20

‘blood-shod.’

Question 21

‘All went ____; all _____;’

Answer 21

‘All went lame; all blind;’

Question 22

‘_____ with fatigue; ____ even to the _____ of ___ _____ dropping ______ _____.’

Answer 22

‘Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hooting of gas shells dropping softly behind.’

Question 23

‘___! ___! _____, ____!’

Answer 23

‘Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!’

Question 24

‘An ______ of _______,’

Answer 24

‘An ecstasy of fumbling,’

Question 25

‘And __________ like a man in ____ or ____…’

Answer 25

‘And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime…’

Question 26

‘Dim, through the _____ _____ and ____ green ____,
As under a _____ ___, I ___ him ______.’

Answer 26

‘Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.’

Question 27

‘In ____ my ____, before my ______ _____,’

Answer 27

‘In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,’

Question 28

‘He ________ at me, ______, ______, _______.’

Answer 28

‘He plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning.’

Question 29

‘_______ dreams’

Answer 29

‘smothering dreams’

Question 30

‘Behind the _____ that we ______ ____ __.’

Answer 30

‘Behind the wagon that we flung him in.’

Question 31

‘And _____ the _____ ____ _______ in his face,’

Answer 31

‘And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,’

Question 32

‘His ______ face, like a ______ ____ of ___;’

Answer 32

‘His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;’

Question 33

‘If you could hear, at every ____, the _____ come ________ from the _____-_______ lungs,’

Answer 33

‘If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,’

Question 34

‘Obscene as _____, _____ as the ___ of _____,’

Answer 34

‘Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of Vile,’

Question 35

‘________ ______ on _______ tongues,’

Answer 35

‘incurable sores on innocent tongues,’

Question 36

‘you would not tell with such ____ ____ to ________ ______ for some ______ _____,’

Answer 36

‘you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory,’

Question 37

‘The old ___: _____ __ _______ ___ ___ _____ ____.’

Answer 37

‘The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.’