soldier crawling on hands and knees through a trench under a cloud of poisonous gas with dead soldiers in the foreground and background

Dulce et Decorum Est

by Wilfred Owen

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Dulce et Decorum Est

Owen describes the "hanging" face of one soldier as "like a devil's sick of sin." He is implying that the soldier looks so horrified and mangled by what he has suffered that he appears devilish, as...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," Owen describes a soldier as "like a man in fire or lime" to describe how the soldier's lungs were burning after inhaling poisonous gas.

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Dulce et Decorum Est

In "Dulce et Decorum Est," the term "blood-shod" describes soldiers whose feet are so injured and bloody that it appears as if they are shod in blood. This vivid imagery emphasizes the horrific...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" uses vivid metaphors and literary devices to convey the grim realities of war. Metaphors such as soldiers "drowning" in gas emphasize the suffocating horror...

2 educator answers

Dulce et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" employs irony to critique the notion that dying for one's country is noble. The title, derived from a Latin phrase meaning "it is sweet and proper to die...

14 educator answers

Dulce et Decorum Est

The phrase "haunting flares" in "Dulce et Decorum Est" contributes to the poem's vivid imagery and conveys the eerie, persistent presence of war. It highlights the soldiers' constant exposure to...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Obscene as cancer" is a form of metaphor called simile that compares two things using the words "like" or "as." Breathing in poison gas on the battlefield is here likened to a slow, painful cancer...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

These three present participles, verbs that also act like adjectives, describe the actions of the soldier who has inhaled poison gas because he did not get his gas mask on in time. When he inhales...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

Assonance in "Dulce Et Decorum Est" is used to create rhythm and flow without rhyme. Wilfred Owen employs assonance by repeating vowel sounds, such as the short "e" in "bent" and "beggars" and the...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen uses a formal structure of four irregular stanzas. Notable structural techniques include vivid imagery and similes to depict the horrors of war, enjambment to...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

In "Dulce et Decorum Est," Wilfred Owen uses vivid metaphors and similes to describe the gassed soldier. He is depicted as "flound'ring like a man in fire or lime," comparing his agony to burning....

3 educator answers

Dulce et Decorum Est

The poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen uses oxymorons to highlight the harsh realities of war. Examples include "bitter joy" and "ecstasy of fumbling," which contrast the glorified...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The phrase "white eyes writhing" is a visual image used to describe the appearance of the young soldier who has inhaled poison gas. It expresses the unnatural movement of his eyes as they seem to...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Drunk with fatigue" is a metaphor. By using it, Owen is trying to convey that the effect of the men's exhaustion has caused them to enter a state akin to drunkenness.

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Dulce et Decorum Est

In "Dulce et Decorum Est," the phrase "dim through the misty panes and thick green light" refers to the glass lenses in the soldiers' gas masks, which provided imperfect vision, and the chlorine gas...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen targets poets like Jessie Pope, who promoted war as noble. Owen, a soldier who experienced World War I's horrors, uses a speaker embittered by witnessing a...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The phrase "cursed through sludge" in "Dulce et Decorum Est" conveys a deeper emotional and physical struggle compared to "marched" or "walked." It suggests soldiers are not just moving, but are...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The allusions in "Dulce et Decorum Est" are to Horace's poem "Ode: III.2," specifically the phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori," meaning "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country."...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Dulce et Decorum Est" is in iambic pentameter. This means that the iamb is the dominant metrical foot in the poem, and it consists of two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed. This...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

In "Dulce et Decorum Est," soldiers are compared to "old beggars under sacks," reflecting their physical burden and homelessness, and to "coughing hags," highlighting their illness from trench...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The tempo in the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" changes from stanza to stanza and within stanzas. It starts out moving very slowly to reflect the weariness of the soldiers. It speeds up rapidly to...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Dulce et Decorum Est" features both external and internal conflicts. The external conflict arises from the brutal realities of war, vividly depicted through graphic imagery. The internal conflict is...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The poet capitalizes the word “GAS” when he repeats it to reflect the soldiers' panicked realization that they are being attacked by gas bombs. The capitalization reflects an increase in tone and...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

"Dulce et Decorum Est" is still relevant to society because it shows the horror of war and how, in war, boys are forced to kill other human beings even when they don't want to, which is something we...

4 educator answers

Dulce et Decorum Est

In "Dulce et Decorum Est," the term "hag" in line 2 describes the soldiers as decrepit and unattractive, akin to old women, undermining the expected image of brave, noble soldiers. This depiction...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The soldier in the second stanza does not literally drown, but the speaker says that he seems to be drowning. He does not get his gas mask on quickly enough and inhales some kind of poison gas which...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The end of the first stanza depicts soldiers as exhausted and on autopilot, whereas the beginning of the second stanza shows a sudden change in pace as they realise that their life is in danger.

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The setting of "Dulce et Decorum Est" is the battlefields of World War I. The poem vividly describes soldiers trudging through mud, exhausted and battle-worn, and then being attacked by gas. The...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The title "Dulce et Decorum Est" is repeated in the last line to highlight the stark contrast between the romanticized notion of war and its grim reality. Wilfred Owen uses this repetition to...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

The speaker in "Dulce et Decorum Est" is likely Wilfred Owen himself, reflecting his personal experiences in World War I, particularly trench warfare and gas attacks. The poem's first-person...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen's "Dulce Et Decorum Est" influenced the Modernist movement by exposing the harsh realities of World War I, contrasting romanticized notions of war with brutal truth. The poem's vivid...

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Dulce et Decorum Est

After the gas attack, the dying soldier is placed in a wagon, likely a medical one, to be taken from the front lines, highlighting the inglorious nature of his death. Owen's depiction emphasizes the...

1 educator answer

Dulce et Decorum Est

In "Dulce et Decorum Est," Owen's poetry conveys the brutal reality of war, challenging the glorified perception of dying for one's country. Through vivid and gruesome imagery, he exposes the horror...

2 educator answers

Dulce et Decorum Est

The rhyme scheme of the second stanza in "Dulce et Decorum Est" is ABABCDCD. This pattern contributes to the poem's rhythmic structure, emphasizing the grim and chaotic experiences of soldiers in...

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