I am going to compare two World War I poems. Both are by Wilfred Owen and both descried experiences of the soldiers in World War I. However, ‘Dolce et decorum est’ is about the front line, whilst ‘Disabled’ describes the experiences of a solider returning home.
In ‘Dolce et decorum est’ the soldiers were leaving the trenches after a long and exhausting span of duty. In the first verse Owen compares the soldiers to ‘old beggars’ and ‘hags’. This suggests that they have lost their youthfulness. These men are compared to beggars who are at the bottom of society. Owen describes what a bad state they are in. he uses the word ‘Blood-shod’. This word paints a vivid image of the men’s feet. I think that this is effective because it uses hard syllables so you have to slow down your reading. Owen also puts a full stop after it; this emphasis’s the word. The word ‘Blood-shod’ has images of red, black and scabby feet. He says that the ‘men marched asleep…all went lame’ this is suggesting that they are stumbling and unsure.
The second verse is a contrast to the first. The men are frantic and there is an ‘ecstasy of fumbling’. The word ecstasy has a meaning of happiness
The fourth verse portrays what happens to the dead soldier; Owen uses vivid images to describe this. He said that the soldiers have ‘incurable sores on innocent tongues’. This is saying that the pain will never heal. The word innocent also has two meanings. Firstly, I think that they are the soldier’s innocence refers to the fact that they are so young and inexperienced, secondly because they are the innocent ones in this war, they have done nothing wrong.
Wilfred Owens bleak and depressing view of life as a soldier came as a huge shock to many people, as they believed the propaganda about how glorious and rewarding life as a solider was. Owen and other war poets were important communicators in the war. They showed the real pain and fear.
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