The poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” is written by Wilfred Owen, a lieutenant in WWI. It describes war and the death. This poem makes use of an ABAB rhyme scheme, sounding like a march with a steady beat. Owen tries to convey the differences and disconnect between what war is like to the soldiers and what civilians believe war is like. Throughout the poem, there is a constant reminder of the horror of war and its true brutal nature, Owen “captures so compellingly not only the tribulations of the soldiers who fought in the war but also their belief that the patriotic rhetoric on the home front… was more to blame for their suffering than the opposing solider” (Parfitt1). War is portrayed as glorious and noble to the public but he soldiers have experienced
…show more content…
By using a hyperbole, the author wanted to exaggerate the zombie like state in which these solders were in. These solders felt dead inside because of what they have gone through and seen, they were exhausted, and frankly they were marching and following each other blindly. The phrase “…Many lost their boots”, further emphasizes that they are in a zombie like state and don’t really know what they are doing or what is going on. The words “But limped on” in the next line shows that even though they were in extreme circumstances they still had to keep going and pull through. For example, in the previous line it said many lost their shoes, but that didn’t keep them from marching, they still had to go on. The word bloodshed sounds similar to the words “blood-shod” in the poem. These words have gore like features associated with the and are seen when blood is lost. The word shod is another word for shoes. The literal meaning of these phrase is blood shoes. The solders are marching through blood, their own blood and others blood. This blood on their shoes symbolizes their pain and suffering as well as the pain and suffering of the solders on the other side. The last part of the phrase is “All went lame; all blind”, the word lame is usually referred to people who are crippled or walk abnormally due to an injury in the legs. Once again the solders physical state is pointed out, they are walking with limps following each other. The same also goes for the word blind. These men are tired and the weight of their eyes are
By using a hyperbole, the author wanted to exaggerate the zombie like state in which these solders were in. These solders felt dead inside because of what they have gone through and seen, they were exhausted, and frankly they were marching and following each other blindly. The phrase “…Many lost their boots”, further emphasizes that they are in a zombie like state and don’t really know what they are doing or what is going on. The words “But limped on” in the next line shows that even though they were in extreme circumstances they still had to keep going and pull through. For example, in the previous line it said many lost their shoes, but that didn’t keep them from marching, they still had to go on. The word bloodshed sounds similar to the words “blood-shod” in the poem. These words have gore like features associated with the and are seen when blood is lost. The word shod is another word for shoes. The literal meaning of these phrase is blood shoes. The solders are marching through blood, their own blood and others blood. This blood on their shoes symbolizes their pain and suffering as well as the pain and suffering of the solders on the other side. The last part of the phrase is “All went lame; all blind”, the word lame is usually referred to people who are crippled or walk abnormally due to an injury in the legs. Once again the solders physical state is pointed out, they are walking with limps following each other. The same also goes for the word blind. These men are tired and the weight of their eyes are