Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Written by: Helen Cunningham
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
What is the poem about?
The poem ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ was written by English poet Wilfred Owen in 1917 and published after his death in 1920. This war poem graphically portrays the horrors of war on the front line, detailing the agonising death of a soldier after a gas attack. The content of the poem is in stark contrast with its Latin title, which means, “It is fitting and sweet to die for one’s country”.
Language, structure and form revision | What happens in the poem? |
Language:
Form:
Structure: | Stanza One:
Stanza Two:
Stanza Three:
Stanza Four:
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Poems for comparison:
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Key words
Context: | War | Propaganda | Realism |
Themes: | Horrors of war | Death | Loss of innocence |
Poem analysis
'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
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.
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Language
Sensory language renders the descriptions vivid and impactful; visually, Owen portrays men “bent double”; audibly he captures the “hoots” of gas shells, and the phrase “ecstasy of fumbling” conveys the physical sensation of panic
Similes comparing soldiers with “old beggars” and “hags” juxtaposes sharply with the idea of soldiers as strong and fit
The use of alliteration and sibilance imbues the poem with a linguistic harshness that reflects the distressing setting
The diction “blood-shod” and “cud” evokes animal imagery to highlight the dehumanising impact of war. The words “devil’s”, “writhing”, “froth-corrupted” and “vile” evoke imagery reminiscent of hell
The metaphor “I saw him drowning” depicts a strong visual image, conveying the shocking event as momentarily drowning out sound, as if submerged in water
Stanza one maintains a consistent rhyme scheme, connoting an orderliness and discipline as the soldiers march. This pattern is interrupted in the second and third stanzas, reflecting the chaotic scene
The Latin phrase “dulce et decorum est/Pro patria mori” reveals Owen’s condemnation of the glorification of war which strengthen the impact of his argument
Structure
The line beginning “Knock-kneed” deviates from the typical iambic pentameter pattern, thus reflecting the challenges of the soldiers’ movement
The third stanza is isolated within the poem to emphasise the psychological horror of witnessing (and reliving) the soldier’s agonising death
Caesura highlights the the soldiers’ plight, forcing the reader to pause after each description: “All went lame; all blind;/Drunk with fatigue”
By using the first person, Owen compels the reader to envision witnessing the harrowing events described
Form
Stanza one maintains a consistent rhyme scheme, connoting a orderliness and discipline as the soldiers march. This pattern is interrupted in the second and third stanzas, reflecting the chaotic scene
The deliberate disruption to a traditional poem form, with varied stanza and line lengths reinforces the chaos and horror of battle
Overview of themes
Themes | Key quotations | Language, form and structure |
Horrors of war | “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind” “Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time” “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs”
| The metaphor “Drunk with fatigue” highlights the severity of the soldiers’ exhaustion; the word “softly” accentuates the physical and psychological fatigue. The largely consistent rhythm and rhyme scheme of the first stanza conveys a sense of order, but its inconsistency perhaps mirrors the soldiers’ limping movements The abrupt exclamation reflects the soldiers’ panic, contrasting with the weary trudging of the previous stanza. Caesura creates tension and a pause in the poem as the men grapple with their gas masks, disrupting the rhythm to reflect the chaos. Enjambment quickens the pace, heightening the sense of panic
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Death | “And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” “In all my dreams before my helpless sight,/He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori” | Repetition of the word “face” presents the image as all-consuming while the alliteration intensifies the dreadful imagery. There is no sense of peace; the death is prolonged and agonising, intended to shock and dispel any preconceived notion of glory The speaker is haunted by the memory, perhaps reflecting Owen’s own experiences of shell shock. The present tense stresses the perpetual nature of the nightmare
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Loss of innocence | “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” “Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—” “To children ardent for some desperate glory” | The imagery and simile of the soldiers as old men highlights their physical exhaustion and the dehumanising conditions of warfare
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Historical and literary context
Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the First World War and a highly acclaimed poet:
In 1916 he sustained injuries in battle and remained trapped in a shell hole for 12 days, close to the dead body of one of his comrades
Following this traumatic experience, he was diagnosed with shell shock before being transferred to Edinburgh for treatment
It was there that he formed a friendship with another World War I poet, Siegfried Sassoon
Based on his own experiences on the battlefield, Owen wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ a year before he was killed in action in 1917
The Latin lines “Dulce et decorum Est/Pro patria mori” (“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”) come from the Roman poet, Horace:
The lines were often quoted as propaganda by those who were pro-war and wanted to encourage people to fight
A propaganda poem called ‘Who’s for the game?’ by Jessie Pope was published in a British newspaper during the First World War promoting patriotism, which presented the war as a game — “the biggest that’s played” — and fighting as “fun”
Owen wrote ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ as a rebuttal to such propaganda by depicting the harsh realities of war
He even included an ironic dedication to Jessie Pope in the original manuscript
Comparing poems
Look at this exam-style question about ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’:
Choose one other poem from the anthology in which the poet also writes about death. Compare the way the poet presents death in your chosen poem with the way Wilfred Owen presents death in ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’. In your answer, you should:
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How you could approach this question:
Thesis/Essay introduction: ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘The Soldier’ are both examples of poetry from the First World War and explore the theme of death. While Brooke employs peaceful, idyllic imagery to glorify death as a noble sacrifice, in contrast, Owen starkly depicts the brutal reality of the battlefield. Although both poems were inspired by World War I, Owen and Brooke’s poems reveal two contrasting views on the notion of dying for one’s country. | |
Similarities | Differences |
Both ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘The Soldier’ draw inspiration from the harrowing experiences of the First World War | Brooke employs pastoral imagery, reminiscent of Romantic poetry (“washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home”). Conversely, Owen employs graphic, hellish imagery to achieve a brutally realistic tone |
Both poems explore the theme of a soldier’s death and reflect on the human cost of war | Owen’s depiction of death is intended to present the harsh reality of a painful, haunting death. In contrast, Brooke’s poem portrays death as a source of peace, contributing to a legacy of “richer dust” forever associated with England, regardless of where the body lies |
Both poets explore the concept of patriotism by exploring the sacrifices made by soldiers for their country | Whereas Owen wrote his poem as a direct response to wartime propaganda glorifying war and patriotism, Brooke presents death as the ultimate expression of patriotism and a means to immortality, for both the fallen soldiers and their nation |
Thesis/Essay introduction: ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Mametz Wood’ are both rooted in the context of the First World War, and explore the theme of death. Writing at the time of the conflict in 1917, Owen depicts the agonising death of a soldier, using vivid imagery to convey the horror of battle and its enduring impact on those who survived. Sheers, although writing decades later, also reflects on the long-lasting legacy of war by reflecting on the discovery of soldiers' remains in a field to explore how the past continues to reverberate into the present. | |
Similarities | Differences |
Both ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and ‘Mametz Wood’ are inspired by the events of the First World War and its enduring consequences | Written during the First World War and from Owen’s first-hand experiences, the poem captures the immediacy and horror of war. In contrast, ‘Mametz Wood’ was composed decades later and offers a retrospective exploration of the lasting repercussions of the conflict |
Both poets depict the physicality of death and portray the suffering and agony endured by soldiers on the battlefield. By depicting the physical toll of violence, both poets confront the reader with harsh truths about war | Owen describes the speaker’s individual experience and the agonising death of a soldier whose face haunts the speaker’s dreams. In contrast, Sheers explores the collective and anonymous nature of war through faceless unearthed bones |
Both poets use metaphorical language to enrich the vividness of their imagery and deepen the emotional impact of their poems | In ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ the tone is bitter and brutal, which is intended to shock the reader into realising the horrors of war. In contrast, ‘Mametz Wood’ adopts a reflective tone with Sheers contemplating the consequences of war from a long-term perspective |
Predicted exam questions to prepare for
Compare the ways poets present soldiers in ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and in one other poem from the anthology.
Compare the way conflict is presented in ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ and in one other poem from the anthology.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember that a good response will integrate contextual understanding with detailed textual analysis and will enhance the overall discussion of the poems. For example, if you are writing a response to a question about ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, you could comment that Wilfred Owen was himself a soldier whose own experiences left him traumatised and bitter towards those who glorified war.
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