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  • Essay / Literary Analysis of Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen

    Dulce Et Decorum Est Analysis Dulce Et Decorum Est is a poem written by the famous Wilfred Owen. He is recognized in English history as the greatest war writer. Perhaps it was because he was able to experience the reality of war firsthand. It was amid his traumatic vulnerability on the battlefield that helped him write some of the greatest poems about the First World War, including Dulce Et Decorum. It all began on October 21, 1915, when he volunteered to join the war. Feeling guilty and under the pressure of all the propaganda, he blindly joined the battle, not knowing the horrors he would soon face. Throughout his literature, you can read his accounts of the war, as well as the effects it had on other soldiers. Each stanza, each line, and each word presents the reader with some form of symbolism and powerful emotion. The variation in the length of the stanzas also explodes the different issues and their importance. Through his use of literary devices, he is able to express this. For example, alliteration is found everywhere, even in the title “Dulce et Decorum Est”, which adds harmony to the poem. Also found in the first and second lines of the first stanza, when Owen states "Bent down like beggars..." and "cough... curse." Also adding one, the use of repetition in the poem helps express the feeling of danger and immediate urgency. For example, in the last stanza, the entry of the word "if" shows that even with its explicit description, readers would still not be able to understand what happened to the gassed soldier unless they saw it in person. Additionally, the tone that can be described in this poem can be described as tense, urgent, accompanied by some anger. Especially during the last four lines where Owen expresses his disgust for the quote "It is sweet and right to die for one's country." Ultimately, it is a memorable poem that sincerely explains the authenticity of life while fighting in