"Dulce et Decorum Est"

Thesis: World War I saw a change in warfare from the traditional gentleman’s warfare to the more brutal and unforgiving total war.  “Dulce et Decorum Est” shows how the usage of new technologies such as mustard gas have made dying in war much more torturous and less honorable than in the past.

Imagery

“someone was still yelling out and stumbling / And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime” (Owen 11-12).

At this point in the poem everyone has just put their gas masks on.  This is where the reader is first introduced to the man that dies from the gas; he was unable to get his gas mask on in time.  His yelling, stumbling and floundering gives the visual of a man struggling and the comparison to being in fire or lime gives the image of inhumane suffering.

“In all my dreams before my helpless sight / He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” (15-16).

The man that died from the gas continues to haunt the speaker.  This man has entered the speaker’s dreams, which could signify that this ex-soldier has PTSD, which was another illness that was brought to light by World War I.  The image created in the dream is haunting and horrific; the speaker sees his comrade suffering as he dies and there is nothing that he can do to help.

Simile

            “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,” (1).

To start the poem, the author compares the soldiers to old beggars.  This comparison is important because it shows just how brutal and debilitating the war is to the soldiers.  The image of old beggars is common throughout history and considered low class and awful, so the author compares the two to show just how awful life is for the soldiers.

“His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” (20).

The author compares the face of the man who died from the gas to that of the devil, but not just the normal devil, the devil sick of sin.  This says that his face not only looks devilish and inhuman, but also old and decrepit, showing the horror that the gas brings to all of those affected by it.

Symbolism

“Many [men] had lost their boots, / But limped on” (5-6).

The losing of their boots by the men symbolizes the effect that trench foot had on soldiers in World War I. The fact that the men kept going without their shoes is symbolic of the fact that the men feared their opponents much more than trench foot, which in itself is quite the formidable foe that should be feared.

            “the white eyes writhing in his face,” (19).

The man’s white eyes symbolize his surrender to his imminent death.  This poem centers around World War I, and in war a white flag symbolizes surrender.  The man here is dying in war from the gas, and knowing there is nothing left that he or anyone else can do to save him, he accepts defeat and surrenders to the gas and his death.