Question: How does Owen represent a chilling representation of warfare?

The fallacy of war is a long living lie, that depicts war as an honourable and respectable way to die,
rather than a horrific and brutal waste of soldiers’ lives. Prolific war-poet Wilfred Owen’s jarring
poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ evokes the brutality and reality of soldier’s experience at war,
contrasting against the fallacious glory. The persona vehemently exclaims ‘like old beggars under
sacks’ in reference to the soldier’s heavy movement. Owen aptly employs the use of a simile to
compare these ‘strong’ soldiers to weak beggars struggling under the weight of their sacks. The
contrast between how soldiers had been portrayed in all media as virile, dignified and constantly
handsome and strong was challenged by comparing the soldiers to what they really experienced
during war - decrepit conditions and a man in need of help. This illustrates how Owen attempted to
corrupt the powerful view of soldiers and juxtapose the imaginary glory with the reality of war. The
persona grievously divulges that the soldiers were ‘Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots of gas
shells dropping softly behind’. Owen skilfully utilises the metaphor of being drunk to present the
soldiers as disorientated and weak. The comparison between the previous depictions of strong
soldiers with the words fatigue and drunk represent the men’s weary and subconscious movement
of the soldiers. The juxta position between gas shells dropping and the word softly highlight how
they are so disoriented and pushed too strenuous limits depicting how soldiers were not always
strong and suffered massively. The persona morosely exclaimed as the last line of this poem ‘The old
Lie, Dulce et Decorum Est, pro patria mori. (it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country)” Owen
expertly manipulates the phrase and the capitalisation of Lie to juxtapose the words describing war
as sweet and fitting while it is actually gruesome and terrifying, significantly impacting the soldiers
and their families. The rhyme between glory and mori (death) highlights Owen’s condescending anti-
war message to the audience. It is evident that, Owen crafts a visceral and chilling representation of
war and its effects through the juxtaposition of the misconceptions of war against the horrifying
reality of the soldier’s experiences.