Dulce et Decorum Est An Emotional Appeal :: essays papers

Dulce et Decorum Est An Emotional AppealWar brings with it countless tragedies. Many of these tragedies only a veteran could full understand. All too often the ugliness of war is glorified, and even worse, glamorized. In the meter Dulce et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen, the glorification of war is sarcastically refuted. Owens exasperation is eminent, as he graphically describes war in terms only a veteran or embattled soldier could comprehend.Dulce et Decorum Est, means It is refreshed and becoming to die for ones country(Arp 566). The title is used satirically, which the speaker defines within the very first phrase in the poem readiness 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 non yet feeling guiltynow would be the time. The emotion that illuminates from these st atements 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 onterrified, 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 creator of Perrines 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, still it is beautifully expressedthe 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 mankind. 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 floundring, and maintaining dry eyes became near impossible.