Connections
The immediate and on-going effect of War is a huge theme portrayed by Wilfred Owen in the poems Dulce et Decorum Est, Disabled and Anthem for Doomed Youth. Siegfried Sassoon is another poet who also portrays this theme in his poem Suicide in the Trenches. The Techniques used in all four poems is very similar along with the bitter and angry tone shown throughout all four poems.
Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen is about Owen’s experience at War when returning back to base camp from the Front. The title of the poem, meaning that it is sweet and glorious to die for one’s country contradicts the message which Owen is conveying to the people of England. In this poem Owen not only talks about his experience but also focuses on an individual who is dying from a gas attack. “In all my dreams…He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”. By focusing on an individual, it makes it more personal for the reader. This quote also shows the nightmares soldiers had from their terrible experiences that happened at War - one of the many on-going effects war had on many, if not all of the soldiers.
The harsh diction Owen uses bluntly describes what Owen and all the other soldiers experienced on a day to day basis. “The blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs” Owen certainly wasn’t trying to sugar coat war, and his choice of harsh diction had a huge impact on how effectively his message was conveyed by highlighting the horror of War. The harsh diction also adds to the angry tone portrayed by the poet especially in the last stanza. The direct address and used in this poem helps Owen get his message across to the readers. “If you could hear…” “My friend, you would not tell…” By directly addressing the reader, the poem becomes more personal for the reader, and the reader feels more connected and guilty knowing what some of the soldiers have seen and been through. The use of similes and metaphors shows the extent of the pain and suffering as well as the...