The poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “The Soldier” bring out a
completely different image of war. Discuss.
The poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “The Soldier” by
Rupert Brooke are both poems that talk about war during the 1st World War.
Despite, both talking about war they are very different, in the sense that one is
encouraging us to go to war while the other is warning us about the dangers of
war.
“Dulce et Decorum Est” is filled with imagery. The battlefield in this poem
can be described as a ‘sludge.’ There was mud everywhere, and some soldiers
even ‘had lost their boots.’ Moreover, many ‘haunting flares’ referring to bombs
were being dropped, and many soldiers were dead on the field.
The soldiers in the poem were ‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks’
and ‘Knock-kneed, coughing like hags’ with some soldiers even having ‘blood-
shod’ feet after having walked on rocks, due to them losing their boots. This
shows how dehumanized the soldiers were being compared to ‘beggars’ and
‘hags.’ ‘Men marched asleep’ and ‘Drunk with fatigue’ show us they were so
exhausted that they may as well be lifeless.
This poem is more realistic as it manages to bring out perfectly the fear that
the soldiers were feeling. ‘Gas! GAS!’ this reported speech is being said by a
soldier who had seen the bomb drop and, in an instant, alerted everyone by
shouting ‘GAS!’. We then see ‘An ecstasy of fumbling’ as the other soldiers are
trying to put on their gas masks so as not to inhale the poisonous gas.
Death in war is ghastly and how Wilfred Owen described it, is gruesome.
Emits the ecstasy, unfortunately, a soldier was still warning everyone and ended
up inhaling the gas. Midst the ‘green sea’ of gas the soldier plunges at the poet
‘guttering, choking, drowning’. We also see what happens to him. His ‘white eyes
writhing in his face’, and with every movement blood was pouring out from his
‘froth-corrupted lungs’.
This poem's tone is pitiful toward the soldiers who have to dehumanize
themselves to fight for their country. However, it is also bitter, angry, and
disillusioned, toward people who idealize war and think ‘It is sweet to die for your
country’ in Latin meaning ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’.
The diction used is used to expose the horror and squalor of war, some
words are ‘obscene’ and ‘haunting’. He also uses a lot of diction, including a lot of
graphic detail, those being ‘forth-corrupted lungs’, ‘eyes writhing’, and ‘blood
come gargling.
The poem “The Soldier” is quite different from the others. The battlefield is
located in a ‘foreign land,’ suggesting it is far from England. Despite being away
from his homeland, he says that if he should die there, he will enrich the soil in
which he would be buried, thus making that part of the land a permanent part of
England.
The soldier in the poem is depicted as a hero or a patriot, who is willingly
ready to sacrifice himself for the greater good of his homeland England.
This poem is less realistic. It doesn’t talk about all the deaths, guns, and
warfare that happen. In the 1st World War during the early stages, there was a lot
of warfare which resulted in many deaths and causalities, making it less realistic
than “Dulce et Decorum Est”
Death in “The Soldier” has a patriotic feel, since he wants to die for his
country if it means the greater good of his country.
The tone used is one of gratitude. He is thankful to his country England for
giving him his nationality rather than any other.
There is a lot of diction being used to compare to the countryside such as
‘field’ and ‘sun’. He also uses positive words completely different from “Dulce et
Decorum Est” these include ‘peace’, ‘laughter’, and ‘peace’.
In conclusion, “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “The Soldier” offer readers two
different perspectives about war. One showing is the grim realities one witnessed
and gives us a patriotic portrayal.
