«DULCE ET DECORUM EST»(best known poem of the First World War)
by WILFRED OWEN

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! ? An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.




The poem "Dulce et decorum est" is an anti-war poem written by Wilfred Owen. In this poem, Owen describes a scene of soldier dying at poisonous gas, showing every terrible and ugly image by describing them in detail and metaphors, letting us know the awful but real images of the war. The poem rhymes very well, it has one eight-line stanza, one six-line stanza, one two-line stanza and one twelve-line stanza.

The poem is divided into four sections. The first section gives us an image that the troop is completely tired and in pain. It starts by describing the scene of troops marching towards the rest; they are exhausted, barefoot, coughing and losing sense. The phrase "old beggars under sacks" shows us a picture that the soldiers are extremely exhausted so that they have no more strength to keep their body straight while marching. The word "beggar" is well chosen because they are not usually respected and cared by people. The soldiers' appearance that are "bent double" and "knock-kneed" also gives a hint that soldiers psychologically might be scared of what is happening next moment. The word "blood-shod" is very painful. The soldiers' feet, with long marches without boots were hurt seriously; a large amount of blood is coming out so that it looks like a shoe. The words "asleep", "deaf", "blind" and "drunk" tell us the soldiers have lost their most basic senses because of exhaustion.

The following section is when poisonous gas appeared. Soldiers quickly put their masks on, but there is one who seems lost in the middle of crowds. He hasn't put immediately the mask on, so he ends up dying. This section begins with the repetition "Gas! GAS!", to emphasize the importance of poisonous gas during that particular war. The first one may be a normal exclamation as people see gas; while the second one, written in capital letters, is much more a warning, telling others that the gas is poisonous and dangerous. That man was "floundering in fire and lime", both fire and lime could kill people, and make them really uncomfortable, the phrase tells that the soldier can't endure anymore. "Green sea" is formed by the soldiers, probably they wear green uniform, it also gives us an impression that there were very many soldiers.

The next two lines is the feeling of Owen as he sees his mate is dying but couldn't go and help him. It has changed the direction of poem suddenly, from developing the scene to the poet's feeling, but it still gives us disturbed images and strong emotions. Owen used the words "guttering, choking, drowning" to describe the movements of the soldier, showing us the image how soldier is attempting to go out there. "Drowning" is used again to emphasize there is a "sea" of soldiers, and it's difficult to get out of the sea, although the soldier is trying hard, he won't be able to get out there, and he will end up dying.

At the last section, Owen saw how the soldier was treated by his mates after saved. "Flung him in" tell us that the others don't take care of hurt soldiers. "White eyes writhing in his face" tell us the soldier is in a pain that shouldn't be endured by man. The sentence "come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs", tells exactly how man is being tortured and it makes readers feel bad even imagine the picture. Using comparisons and metaphors as arguments for his anti-war ideas, Owen finally says that the latin sentence "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori", which means "is sweet and right to die for your country" is "the old lie".

Owen is writing this poem to Jessie Pope, and he called "my friend" to Jessie Pope. But of course they aren't friends; Owen used this word in an angry and ironic way. In this poem, Owen tells his reactions about the war and his anger at people who write for the war very proudly and recruit more people to go to the war. Owen makes the contrast between the horrifying truth that is happening at the war and the lies that are being told at home. He is also saying that people who know the horrors of a war wouldn't tell "the old lie".
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