Thursday 21 February 2013

Analysis of the poem by W. Owen


Wilfred Owen in Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori, with realistic words, cruel in their truth, describes a moment of withdrawal, not strong, not glorious, not honourable. The writer’s memory is vivid like the green killer gas. It is a bitter consideration about the old lie inculcated in the minds and in the enthusiasm of children, who haven’t known death yet.
The “war poets” were the first who denounced trench life or death by gas; but they also revealed the sense of exaltation and the spirit of adventure that marked the first years of the war. “Dulce et Decorum est” is an example of Owen's statement of the horror of war and the hypocrisy and ignorance of patriotism. The poem focuses on the terrible new chemical weapon of World War I: Gas. “Dulce et decorum est” is divided in four irregular stanzas. Each stanza deals with a precise point, in fact we can notice that in the first the poet introduces the situation, in the second he describes the gas attack, then in the third we can find the description of the poet's dream-nightmare and at the end he describes the soldier's death and produces the poem's message:
the sweet death for the country only results in a lie to tell children in search of glory. As the most sacred ties were set aside with reference to the relationship between soldiers and the country, because they did not feel supported by the nation that they protected, other new interpersonal ties resulted from belonging not to the same country but to the same community in the trenches; they were increasingly reinforced through human contact and trust within the troops.

Grassi Vittoria , 4 B

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