Dulce Et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen by unknown photographer © Fotosearch/Getty Images

Wilfred Owen is considered one of the greatest war poets to come out of Britain. Owen was able to bring life to his words by describing his harsh experiences during World War I. Owen enlisted in the war in 1915, and was sent to France in 1916. Immediately, Owen began commanding a platoon on the front line. While commanding the front line, Owen was forced to run through the trenches that were filled with water in order to escape death. These experiences were all made known through his words in "Dulce et Decorum Est." According to the Interesting Literature article, "A Short Analysis of Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est', "In October 1917, Wilfred Owen wrote to his mother from Craiglockhart Hospital: 'Here is a gas poem, done yesterday........ the famous Latin tag (from Horace, Odes) means of course it is sweet and meet to die for one's country" (interestingliterature.com, 2018). The emphasis on sweet in Owen's letter provides the irony in the poem that maybe it is not so sweet to die for one's country. Owen describes the horrible experiences he faced on the front line by using similes and imagery that can bring the reader into the war itself. The horrible experiences with deadly gas and watching other soldiers die in trenches prove that competing in war is not as gracious as propaganda makes it seem. Owen's work is an eye opener to many young men and women who are considering enlisting in the war in order to fight for their country.