Dulce et decorum est Essay -- English Literature

Dulce et decorum est is a well known battlefield poem written by Wilfred Owen. Critical Analysis Dulce et decorum est is a well known battlefield poem written by Wilfred Owen. It has been written in the first person and the present tense to make the reader feel as if they are actually there. It is in three clear sections, which are eight-line stanzas, rhyming ABABCDCD. It has an extra four lines in the last stanza to incorporate the main message of the poem. It uses many similes and metaphors, which add drama and make it more effective. The first stanza creates the impression of the men being tired and wounded. It describes many afflictions which are normally associated with old age, it is as though the war has aged them prematurely for example, they are now 'knock-kneed' and 'bent double' . It is about the men's journey to a distant rest place away from the battlefield 'til on haunting flares we turned our backs'. 'Cursed through sludge' tells the audience that the conditions are awful and that the language being used to drive them forwards is harsh. The poem...