DULCE ET DECORUM EST

POET
Wilfred Owen, (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an
English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of
the First World War. His war poetry related the horrors of
trenches and gas warfare. His work stood in contrast to the
public perception of war at the time.
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
 ANALYSIS
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
 THEMES

War

The poet highlights the rough elements of war. It is evident

that he does not see the value of a war. He, however,
recognizes that fighting in a war is not glamorous. The pain
and suffering that accompanies a war makes one question if
it is worth it.
THEMES
THEMES
LITERARY DEVICES
LITERARY DEVICES
LITERARY DEVICES
 LITERARY DEVICES

Mood

The poem makes the reader empathize with soldiers;

recognizing it’s a much harder, unpredictable and
unrewarding job.
 LITERARY DEVICES

Tone

The persona appears to be bitter and upset by the idea of

war.
RECAP