Dulce et Decorum Est Group
Question:
hottiesforeks
Student
College - Freshman
What is the personification, simile, metaphor, irony, and imagery of "Dulce et Decorum Est"?
Answers:
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linda-allen Teacher
High School - 10th GradeeNotes Editor
Posted by linda-allen on Thursday April 10, 2008 at 7:38 PMI have pasted in the sources section below a link to the Guide to Literary Terms, in which each of these devices is defined. I'll give you a couple examples of each and let you find the rest of them in the poem.
Personification occurs when the author gives human characteristics to an inanimate object or animal. Look at how Owen describes the guns and see if you can find personification in them.
Similes and metaphors are comparisons; simile uses the word "like" or "as," and a metaphor does not. One simile in the poem is in the line "His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin." An example of a metaphor is the expression "blood-shod." The soldiers have lost their boots, and their feet are bloody instead.
Irony occurs in the whole poem, especially with the title and the final lines, which can be translated as "It is good and fitting to die in the service of one's country."
Imagery is mental pictures that the poem evokes for the reader. I won't give you any examples of imagery because that should be something you can "imagine" for yourself. Hint: the poem is full of images of war and pain.
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