"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks." Is the melancholy air in which the famous poem- "Dulce et Decorum Est", begins. The content of this poem is based upon war and tragedy. Wilfred Owen tries to show the harsh reality of war, to people who were still content in believing it was noble and glorious. His message is that if only they could experience his "smothering dreams" which are but an echo of what his comrade suffered, then maybe they would change their beliefs. His reference to children in the line- "My friend you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory" was written probably because many of the young men who Owen was suffering with signed up because of the belief that war was glorious and noble. Owen is saying that if only the parents knew what would happen to their children if they fought in a war like this one they would never tell them what others had been told before.

The language used in this poem is not overly complex. Owen uses similes and metaphors, particularly in stanza one to express himself. To fully understand h

Wilfred Owen's work was obviously greatly affected by his time spent fighting in World War One. As he taught English, this probably helped his skills, but it was his experiences at the front that gave him his inspiration. At the front, Owen experienced horrors and suffering of which, we cannot even dream. Through the war he met other great poets such as Siegfried Sassoon, who encouraged him to write. Owen was very young but his writing shows a maturity that could have only come from doing what he did. In many of his poems, Owen seems to be mocking religion. This stems from the anger that he felt at the church for it's inability to stop the war and the utter waste of life. All of Owen's poems mention death and suffering and they all contain metaphors. He watched friends and men he just met die at the hands of that "noble" war. Many of his poems are quite negative, especially "Dulce et Decorum Est". Although he suffered greatly during the war, one cannot help but wonder if he would have written any poetry at all, if he had not enlisted and gone to fight in the war.

This poem had a profound effect on me. The pain and anguish that Owen describes is appalling, he writes so effectively, and the language he uses is just so descriptive that you can imagine the horror of war. Another point I admire about his writing is his use of metaphors. Every word seems to be chosen with painstaking care. The words can mean so many different things. The emotions and tone that he conveys is so open. Another thing I like about this poem is Owen is not just describing what he sees, but he has a very clear message to give to people. I also like this poem because Owen speaks as a man and a soldier who knows what it is like, who is presenting a complete picture, without worrying about conforming to societies wishes.

The second stanza presents a dramatic change from the first. It begins with a gas-shell landing near, sending the soldiers into a panic. The rhythm of the poem changes, becoming faster. What is interesting about this paragraph is that after the initial chaos, all attention is focused upon the death of the soldier. Another change is that instead of being the silent observer, we are now sharing the thoughts of Owen. The emotions also subtly change. We now feel horror and pity at what is occurring and we can understand the helplessness that Owen is feeling. A powerful metaphor in this stanza is when Owen compares the soldier's reaction to the gas as though he was drowning. There is also the reference to the fact that Owen is wearing a gas mask-"Dim through the misty panes and thick green light". As with the ending lines in the

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