dulce et decorum est Flashcards
who wrote the poem?
Wilfred Owens
what are the main themes of the poem?
- effects of war
- pain and suffering
- death and loss
- negative emotions
what are the main feelings and attitudes of the poem?
- suffering
- criticism
what is the poem about?
the poem describes the suffering of exhausted soldiers marching away from battle, when they are suddenly attacked by chlorine gas and the narrator sees a man die. he’s haunted by this image in his dreams. he paints a graphic picture of the soldier’s injuries and uses his experiences to warn against telling people that fighting for your country is honourable
what is the form of the poem?
uses alternate rhymes (ABAB) which reflects the relentlessness of the soldiers’ suffering. irregular stanza length and metre add to the sense of uncertainty, reflecting war’s unpredictable nature
what does the enjambment and caesura in the poem do?
create a disjointed rhythm and a variable pace
what are the possible links?
- mametz wood (war)
- the manhunt (war)
- the soldier (patriotism)
what is the structure of the poem?
4 stanzas - different lengths
what is the tone of the poem?
it is serious at the start as the narrator paints a picture of his memories of war, and later explains how they still affect him in the present. the poem then becomes an appeal aimed directly at the reader, and the narrator adopts an ironic tone to put his opinion across
what kind of imagery and language does the poem use?
- realistic images of war
- graphic imagery
- use of sounds
how does the narrator’s descriptions change through the poem and why?
they become more graphic, particularly in the final stanza, which shocks the reader and aims to remove the honour that some associate with fighting for their country by showing people the horrific reality of war
why is the title ‘dulce et decorum est’?
taken from a latin saying that was often quoted at the start of ww1 to encourage men to fight it means ‘it is sweet and honourable’ (to die for your country), which is ironic as in this poem Owen presents the harsh reality of warfare
what are the first four lines of the poem?
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, / Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge, / Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs / And towards our distant rest began to trudge
what are the annotations of ‘Bent double’?
implies the soldiers have been physically broken by war, shows they are so exhausted they cannot even stand up
what are the annotations of ‘like old beggars’ and ‘like hags’?
- similes show how the soldiers have been affected by war - ‘old’ suggests they’ve lost their youth, while ‘hags’ takes away their masculinity
- owen suggests that the men are prematurely old and weakened
what are the annotations of ‘trudge’?
suggests a slow and heavy walk because of the harsh conditions suffered by the soldiers
what is the second half of the first stanza?
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots / But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; / Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots / Of gas shells dropping softly behind.
what are the annotations of ‘men marched asleep’?
metaphor suggests the extreme exhaustion of the soldiers
what are the annotations of ‘All went lame; all blind’?
repetition of ‘all’ emphasises the widespread suffering, and the adj suggest war has completely broken them
why are there caesurae in the first stanza?
ot slows the pace of the poem, emphasising how slowly the soldiers are walking
what are the annotations of ‘drunk with fatigue’?
metaphor emphasises their exhaustion and inability to function
what are the first two lines of the second stanza?
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling, / Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
what are the annotations of ‘Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!’
- pace of the poem suddenly quickens, creates a sense of urgency
- repetitions and exclamation marks create a sudden change of pace
what are the annotations of ‘ecstasy’?
ironic as it suggests excitement when actually the soldiers are panicking
