Isabella Ortiz

Period 4
Creating Questions for a Harkness Discussion (Literature Based)

Dulce et Decorum Est

Ask ​three​ questions about the text (three per level). These need to be questions that you want to discuss or hear your classmates
discuss. Do not ask questions that you know the answer to just to have something down on paper to turn in.

Level One Question: What is the setting and time period of the poem?
For the seminar student, these are not mere recall questions;
rather, they establish evidence of basic facts presented in the
author’s proof paragraph. How old was the author when he died?

Examples:
● What evidence does the author use to support his What’s the meaning of the poem’s title?
argument that it is man’s responsibility to care for the
land?
● To what does the author compare his boyhood
experience on the family farm in order to further his
argument that man is forever attached to the land?

Level Two Question: Why are so many comparisons made throughout the
poem?
These questions are textually implicit, requiring analysis and
interpretation of specific parts of the text, pointing out what a
specific part of the text actually means, or what language was
used to create the meaning. It’s not about what happened on Who is the “He” in Stanza 3? What’s the personality of
page 47 of the novel; it’s more like, “How does the author’s the poisonous gas?
description of the dying horse on page 47 of the novel create a
tone?”

Examples: Every other word in the poem rhymes. What effect

● Why do you think the author relies heavily upon visual does the rhyming scheme have on the overall tone of
imagery in this passage to convey his love of the land? the poem?
● How does the heavy use of repetition contribute to the
effectiveness of the author’s argument that
___________?
● What do you think the author means when he says:
_____?

Level Three Question:
These questions are more open-ended and go beyond the text.
They are intended to provoke a discussion of an abstract idea or
issue, to connect events/themes in the anchor text to other
texts, other arguments, or to universal issues of
life/society/mankind itself.
Examples:
● How has man’s attitude toward nature changed over the
last 100 years?
● How has society’s changing perception toward nature
been advantageous? Detrimental?
In the last sentence of the poem it says what “the old Lie”
is, that it is “sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”
What is the difference in how war is advertised to the
public and aspiring military personnel versus the reality of
war?
PTSD is represented and touched on in the poem overall.
How does the scarring of PTSD in the poem correlate to
PTSD in society?
Seeing as the author died as a young man before the war
ended, and never got to see his success as a poet, are
there times that dying for one’s country is sweet and
fitting? When is it not?
Isabella Ortiz
Period 4

In one complete sentence, write what the text is about (a The title of the poem means “​sweet and fitting to die for
summary of the purpose, message, plot, theme, etc.). one’s country,” but as described in the poem, war is ​not
sweet but, gory, brutal, sad, and life impacting.

Create a textual analysis. This analysis should take into account

your previous questions and explore possible answers of your
level two and three questions. (500 words or more)

Remember​: This assignment is due at the beginning of the period in which we will discuss a text —not mid-way through. These
responses will serve as the basis for our class discussion.

This is the article I chose to use to tie in with the story:

https://www.mightyoaksprograms.org/about/the-facts/?utm_campaign={campaign_id}&utm_sour
ce=google-ads&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAiAj-_xBRBjEiwAmRbqYtP69637c9eaqgAttvJ--
PYx-MWyVHRkRKpide-EvHoqEvB3fQROVxoCHuIQAvD_BwE

The title of the poem means “sweet and fitting to die for one’s country,” but as
described in the poem, war is ​not s​ weet but, gory, brutal, sad, and life impacting. The setting
and time period of the poem is a World War I battlefield. The author, Wilfred Owen, fought in
this war and was killed one week before the end of the war: he was twenty-five years old.
Because the theme of this poem is based off of war, there are many comparisons that are used
throughout the duration of it. The purpose for all these different comparisons is to describe war
in a way that is relatable and recognizable to the audience. Many forms figurative languages
like, idioms, similes, personification, and onomatopoeia are used. In Stanza 3, the “He” refers to
the poisonous gas. The personality of the poisonous gas is something that is evil, unescapable,
and suffocating. This is why personification is used to give an inanimate object, like gas, a
personality. Every other word in the poem rhymes. The effect the rhyming scheme has on the
overall tone of the poem is to give it rhythm. While it’s not a very sing song poem, the
consistency dramatizes the storytelling tone. A personal observation is that the rhythm is like
the beating of drums; the drums of war. In the last sentence of the poem it says what “the old
Lie” is, that it is “sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.” There is a difference in how war is
advertised to the public and aspiring military personnel versus the reality of war. When war is
advertised, it’s represented in a way that is patriotic. Especially in commercials sponsored by
the Army, Navy, etc. it shows soldiers and other military personnel that are strong, confident
heros making a difference for their country. This one form of propaganda taps into the viewers
emotions and is meant to fire them up in a way that encourages them to want to make a
difference for their country as well and fight our enemies. What those commercials don’t show
is the raw brutality of war. They don’t show the horrid PTSD soldiers have to live with for the
rest of their lives, trapped and consumed by their own thoughts caused by the trauma of war.
They don’t show a soldier’s squad member being killed right next to them in battle. They don’t
show limbs being blown off and the agonizing pain of being wounded. PTSD is represented and
touched on in the poem overall. The scarring of PTSD in the poem correlates to PTSD in society
because the vivid imagery of the poem is as close as most of us civilians could understand how
traumatic PTSD is and how anyone who has PTSD sees their pain being relieved. Seeing as the
Isabella Ortiz
Period 4
author died as a young man before the war ended, and never got to see his success as a poet,
are there times that dying for one’s country is sweet and fitting? When is it not? This comes
down to the individual and their core morals along with their lives and what they want from it.
If a soldier has a young child and another baby on the way back home, it would be
heartbreaking to know that there’s so much to lose by proceeding into war. Of course in the
military, one is trained to receive orders and deliver on those through their actions. If they are
there by choice they absolutely know what is at risk. But it’s still so saddening to witness so
many lives lost that could’ve been avoided without war. The title of the poem means “sweet
and fitting to die for one’s country,” but as described in the poem, war is ​not ​sweet but, gory,
brutal, sad, and life impacting.