During the time of Augustus, the Latin lyric poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (later known as Horace), wrote a poem titled, "Pro patria mori, " which we translate as "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country." The central narrative of the poem, describes the death of an anonymous soldier who was overcome by a poisonous gas. It is vividly described through the use of imagery to convey the excruciating death of the man while also conveying an attack on those who seek glory in the misfortunate death of others. The "friend" mentioned in line 25 can be taken as Jessie Pope, who had published numerous patriotic poems in newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Daily Express in an attempt to urge young men to enlist into the army. The subject of the poem can be seen to stem from a letter by Owen to his mother in which he conveys the vivid description of being overtaken by tear-gas. .
In the poem, "Dolce Et Decorum Est," the long vowel sounds compliments the imagery that are describing the noun. Looking at the line, "Old beggars knock kneed, coughing like hags," it's evident that the long "o" is held out in an attempt to emphasize the adjective for the purpose of describing the beggars. The long "e" in kneed also is elongated, which accompanies the noun and adds more imagery to the line. The second line opens with the same two strong stresses, knock-kneed, this time accented further by the alliteration. The brutality of these opening words and stresses echoes the brutality of the soldiers' destruction, their transformation from healthy young men into 'beggars' and 'hags'. Owen also unifies the first two lines through the assonance between 'hags' and 'sacks', which then runs through to 'backs' in line three. The short, staccato 'a' places emphasis the hacking sound of the soldiers coughing. The long "i: in limped and the short "o" in "blood-shot" works to also provide more description of the life of a solider and also contributes to the tone of the poem in which the poem through the vivid description.
