Introduction to Figurative Language ( favourite poem)

Wilfred Owen

Dulce Et Decorum Est

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 disappointed shells 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 floundering 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.

1. How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

Ans: The poet started with "bent double, like old beggars under sacks" ( 1). It is a simile of troops on a march. The poet wanted to paint a very powerful picture of the discomfort and lack of dignity experienced by the soldiers. "Men marched asleep" (5): a virtual impossibility, the metaphor represents the complete exhaustion endured by the soldiers. The "incurable sores on innocent tongues" (24) is also a metaphor and it declares the absurdity and injustice of war.

2. Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.
Ans: I like this poem because it tells us about the sufferings of soldiers. From the injuries, both physically and mentally suffered in battle, to the exhaustion they suffered and to lack of dignity they suffered. The poem is to revoke the idea of "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori", which means that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. The phrase is a line from the Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes. The poem serves as a deterrent to young men, who were told lies about the glory and chivalry of war and to persuade them not to join in a war.