Dulce et decorum est
About the poet
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen is an English poet who participated in the First World War and died before the armistice. His poems depict the disturbance and chaos of war which causes death and destruction. Many of his poems were published posthumously.
About the poem
Wilfred Owen joined in the First World War as a British soldier. During the First World War, he was injured and admitted to a hospital when he wrote this poem and sent it to his mother. Later he died on 4th November 1918. After his death, it was published in 1918.
It is a satirical poem that is written in the backdrop of the First World War, showing the universal pain of war. So it is also an anti-war poem.
This poem is written against those who glorify war. It depicts how the propaganda of war influences the youth and snatches life untimely.
This poem describes how soldiers become victims of the terror and horror of war. It also portrays a detailed picture of the ‘Trench war’, and illustrates to the readers the futile and brutal side of the war by using an image of soldiers.
The title ‘Dulce et Decorum Est ‘ is written in Latin. It means “It is very sweet and right to die for one’s country.”
It is written in iambic pentameter. This poem follows a rhyme scheme -abab cdcd abab cdcd abab cdcd efef.
It is written in a bitter and scornful tone.
The main theme of the poem is the difference between the reality of war and the propaganda of war.
Word-Meaning:
♦bent-double -soldiers are not able to walk straight due to fatigue, so their bodies seem to double curved, ♦Knock-Kneed-Knees are touching each other due to tiredness of the soldiers, ♦sacks -large bags in which the soldiers have to carry their weapons and uniform, ♦hoots-sound of shells
Figure of Speech
Simile-like old beggars, like a man in the fire, coughing like hags, like a devil’s sick of sin, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Metaphor-blood shod, froth-corrupted lungs, misty pane, green sea
Alliteration-Men marched asleep
Personification-haunting flares, of tired, outstripped Five-Nines
Hyperbole-deaf even to the hoots
Transferred epithet-innocent tongues
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ tells about-
a)a gas attack b)a crime c) a false concept of nature d) the importance of war
2. “Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind”-What figure of speech is used in this line?
a)Antithesis b)Personification c)oxymoron d)simile
3. The phrase ‘Smothering dreams’ suggests –
a) nightmares b) sleeplessness c)lunacy d)madness
4.”All went lame; all blind”Here ‘all’ refers to –
a)the soldiers b) the strangers c)the old man d)the fate
5. The phrase ‘Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori’ means-
a) ‘It is sweet and fitting to live for your country’ b)’ It is not sweet and fitting to die for your country c) ‘It is sweet and fitting to die for your country d)None of these
6. The weapon which was harmful to the soldiers were
a)Gun b)knife c)Gas Shells d)sword
7. The poem Dulce et Decorum Est was published during-
a)Civil War b)Irish rebellion c) the First World War b)the Second World War
8. The poem Dulce et Decorum Est is –
a) a war poem b) a lyric poem c) a pastoral poem d)an anti-war poem
9. Wilfred Owen was born in
a)1893 b)1888 c)1902 d)1905
10. Wilfred Owen participated as a soldier in –
a)Cold War b)Irish rebellion c) the First World War b)the Second World War
Substance
In the poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ the poet describes how the soldiers felt exhausted and carried their weapons along with uniforms like old beggars, coughed like hags, trudged through the trenches during the First World War. Due to injuries and fatigue, they became so weak that they marched asleep, and many of them lost their boots and got bloody feet. Suddenly they came under a gas attack and started putting on their masks to save their lives. In a rush when the shells with poison gas exploded, one soldier was unable to get his mask on in time, he was shouting and moving in an unsteady way. He was engulfed in a green sea which the explosive shell caused. He struggled like a man in the fire, but he died. The incident of his death haunted the poet as a nightmare in the night as he observed the entire struggle of his fellow soldier as another soldier. The poet saw how his fellow soldier jumped at him, made gurgling sounds but could not breathe as he was drowned in the gas, and inhaled the gas. The poet claimed those who glorify war or warmongers have not experienced the bitter and pathetic consequences of war. So they always tell a lie that it is sweet to die for one’s country to the youth who are enthusiastic about the glory of war that snatches life from the youth untimely.