English Literature

The poem is set in a war zone/battlefield where the soldiers are exhausted and indifferent about their situation because they are so used to it. The poet describes the soldiers physical appearance, all bent, coughing and bleeding. Wilfred Owen states that the soldiers had turned their backs to the flames, this shows that the soldiers had been in this situation many times and were so tired that they couldn't be bothered. "Towards our distant rest began to trudge," indicates that the soldiers are walking towards their death and they are all aware of this, but they are helpless. "Deaf even to the hoots of tired, outstripped, Five Nines that dropped behind," further confirms the exhaustion that the soldiers are facing, as they cannot even hear the bombs.

In the second stanza, the tone changes to a frantic one as the soldiers realize that there has been a gas attack, "Gas! Gas!" The exclamation marks highlight the panic and tension that arose and draws the readers attention to the change in atmosphere. The poet describes how one of the soldiers could not get his mask on in time. He says that he was "like a man in fire or lime," the use of visual imagery helps us imagine a man, stuck in  burning building while at the same time, the poet introduces the color green. "Misty panes and thick green light," allow us to imagine being behind the mask ourselves. The poet cannot see clearly through the misty panes which is the glass of his mask and the green light which the gas bomb has given off.

In the third stanza, the poet describes how helpless he felt, unable to do anything to save the innocent soldier from dying. He admits to seeing the soldier in his dreams, this suggests that he is still reliving the day and cannot seem to get the memories out of his brain.

In the final stanza, the poet addresses the reader as well as the British government, saying that if the people lived through these experiences themselves, and saw the soldier slowly die before them, unable to help, they would not believe that being a soldier is honorable. He ironically calls the government his friend, even though it is his biggest enemy which has sent out innocent people to face their deaths. He calls the nation the government's children and says that if the government knew the truth, they would not say it is honorable to be a soldier. The poet concludes with the Latin words, "Dulce et decorum est, por patria mori," However, he calls this a lie meaning that it is in fact not sweet and honorable to die for your country. This gives the title of the poem an ironic edge as Dulce et Decorum est means that dying for your country is good. However, Wilfred Owen ends the poem by calling this a lie.