Dulce Et Decorum Est: An Emotional Appeal Essay, Research Paper

Dulce et Decorum Est: An Emotional Appeal

War brings with it countless tragedies. Many of these tragedies only a veteran could fully understand. All too often the ugliness of war is glorified, and even worse, glamorized. In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen, the glorification of war is sarcastically refuted. Owen’s anger is eminent, as he graphically describes war in terms only a veteran or embattled soldier could comprehend.

Dulce et Decorum Est, means “It is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country”(Arp 566). The title is used satirically, which the speaker defines within the very first phrase in the poem: “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks”(565). The speaker continues the description of the once young and healthy boys: “Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, /Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs”(565), if the war enthusiast was not yet feeling guilty—now would be the time. The emotion that illuminates from these statements is powerful and intense. It is now clear, that one who has lived through war, could not possibly glorify it. The speaker vividly describes the hell soldiers endure while desperately trying to stay alive. Exhausted, injured, and “Drunk with fatigue”(566), the men go on—terrified, yet brave, the men go on. These men are not just a bunch of nameless men going to battle, they have names, and families, and beating hearts.

The author of Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, Thomas R. Arp, asks the reader to “List the elements of the poem that seem no beautiful and therefore ‘unpoetic.’ Are there any elements of beauty in the poem?”(566). Although this is an extremely dark poem, and reveals some very ugly realities, I find it beautiful. It may not be about flowers, and the sun, and the gleaming ocean, but it is beautifully expressed—the way it ought to be. It encourages thinking and feeling, while removing ignorance.

The intensity grows as the length of the poem grows. First, the speaker told of the men, and how they trudged towards distant rest (566). Now, further in the poem he singles out a single man. He also mentions himself as he explains “I saw him drowning”. He is referring to the one man who could not get his gas mask on in time to prevent death. During this passage, I could not help but to visualize the one young man who was left “flound’ring”, and maintaining dry eyes became near impossible. Again, I am reminded of the powerful sarcasm introduced with the first line of the poem. How could anyone glorify the agony of watching a young boy scraping at the eyes of death?

The speaker describes the journey home, and suggests, “If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace / Behind the wagon that we flung him in”(566), which delivers a powerful blow. The use of the word “flung” in the above passage seems to have double meaning. It depicts the chilling reality that human life is disposable when it comes to war. It also implies that we have not seen this young mans face, and we did not watch him die—to the non-veteran, he is merely a statistic. The speaker will never forget this man, and through his words, neither will anyone who reads this poem and takes it to heart. The speaker continues to graphically describe the repulsive conditions of which they endured. The rank conditions, and the cloud of death hovers, waiting for the next life to swallow. Finally, the speaker bitterly asserts, “To children ardent for some desperate glory, /The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori”. At this point his rage practically explodes from the page, which he deserves; it is poetic justice.

I could never be so brazen as to say I understand what men who have been in war have gone through. I have the deepest respect for their bravery, yet I deeply resent the reasons these young men and women have to fight in war. If the leaders of the world, and especially the leaders of our country actually read this poem in their ENC1102 class, maybe things would be different. But the cold hard fact remains—people are easily desensitized. If it is not their child, husband, brother, or friend at war, then it is just a TV show. Right?

Arp, Thomas R. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ft. Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998.

Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce Et Decorum Est”. ARP 565-566.