Dulce et decorum est- Wilfred Owen

Themes

War- The old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori "It is sweet and proper to die for ones country". Wilfred Owen was a British WW1 soldier, and wrote the poem while in the trenches.

Grief (Friend/soldier who dies)- If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs. He grieves the friend who died and wishes he could have helped in some way.

PTSD/Trauma- In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. Shows the impact war had on Owen personally, and that it still impacts him throughout the remaining wartime.

Simile

"And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime"

* Layers image of burning to emphasise the pain and horror of the lung-burning gas.

Dialogue

"Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!"

* Shows experience and what it was like
* Increases tempo
* Emotion and worry about fellow soldiers

Shell shock

A condition WW1/2 soldiers were diagnosed with post-wartime, with psychological and psychosomatic symptoms, due to exposure to active warfare horrors. Now known as PTSD, Post traumatic stress disorder.

Message

Wilfred Owen speaks about his negative experience during war. He pleads people who preach what he calls 'the old lie' - that it is sweet and honorable to die for your country - to stop feeding this to young, naive men, because they haven't been to war and don't know the personal and psychological impacts warfare has.