Dulce Et Decorum est, written by Wilfred Owen is a very realistic and brutal poem about the First World War. In his poem he describes the terrible conditions of which many Soldiers had to live, fight and for many soldiers die in. This contrasts greatly with the poem The Soldier written by Rupert Brooke. The Soldier is a very passionate patriotic poem about The First World War. The Soldier was written at the beginning of The First World War, whilst the whole Country was full with enthusiasm and with a patriotic feel. Although Rupert Brooke wrote about the War, he himself never made it there as he died on the journey there.
This again may be another reason for his enthusiasm, as he had never experienced the grim and harsh reality of War. Dulce Et Decorum est was written towards the very end of the War, where most of the Country was tired and bitter of fighting. Wilfred Owen, the writer of Dulce Et Decorum est, had fought in the War and had experienced the horrific conditions of War. This is maybe the reason he decided to use the highly ironic title Dulce Et Decorum Est, which is a famous line created by the well-known academic Horace. It means it is sweet and fitting to fight for your country.
This has a great contrast to the poems tone and content. The content of both of these poems has great relevance to the First World War. The Soldier has great means of pride, patriotism and religious content: “In hearts at peace, under an English heaven”. By concentrating on these elements, Rupert Brooke creates a very different poem to Dulce Et Decorum est. In the first stanza he writes of how if he were to die in war, a corner of a foreign field will be “for ever England. ” This is very patoratic as it shows the reader, that he has no fear.
He follows by decribing England as a beautiful land full of freedom, “Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam. ” This again is very patoratic as it shows the readers,potential soldiers, that England is something worth fighting for. He starts his next stanza by describing his own psyical and mental fight for his country, “And think, this heart, all evil shed away. ” This shows how he is not jut fighting for his Country he is also fighting a mental battle within himself. He follows by describing himself as a “pulse in the eternal mind. ” Which shows he is well aware he is only a very small piece of a large plan.
It could also mean he is in pulse with God and that he believes God is backing them. This gives the reader great confidence as it shows that if God is backing them they must be in the right and therefore they will win. He then finishes the poem by using strong passionate personification to describe England, “Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day. “This is another form of patronism as it gives the reader great pride for England. In Wilfred Owen’s poem his point of view on the War is very different. He writes about treacherous events vividly which causes very clear images: “Gas!
Gas…yelling out and stumbling”. This vivid explanation causes a very clear disturbing picture, which makes the reader think of those who fought for their Country and those who died doing it. This therefore sends the reader a very different view of war. He starts Dulce Et Decorum est by describing the shocking state of which all soldiers were in and the horrific condition which they lived and fought in, “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge. ” He then describes a vivid gas attack by using strong description and imagary, “Gas!
Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound”ring like a man in fire or lime. ” This is very penetrating as the strong imagary make you imagine the shocking conditions and the sudden attack. This therefore makes the prospect of the war a reality. His last stanza starts by describing the attack effect of the gas attack, “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. This is very frightening for the reader as you can vividly imagine it. It would also be frightening if you had family or friends in the war as it is very easy to imagine the horrific death happening to one of them. In the final stanza, Owen enforces that, should readers see what he has seen, the government would cease to send young men to war, all the while instilling visions of glory in their heads. No longer would they tell them the old lie, “Dulce Et Decorum est. ” The language used in The Soldier has many different descriptive techniques.
Rupert Brooke decides to use personification to describe England: “Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day”. This effect echances the certain theme of patronism around the poem, this is because the reader thinks of England as a woman and therefore something worth fighting for. He also uses a few examples of alliteration which is very promanent in old English poems. Alliterations has a gratifying effect on the sound, which gives a reinforcement to stresses, and can also serve as a subtle connection or emphasis of key words in a line, “And laughter, learnt of friends; and geltleness”.
Dulce et Decorum est also includes very clever and effective descriptive words which creates imminant images. He uses imagery in his poem so he is albe to create a picture in the readers mind which is needed to feel the full force of the poem “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge. ” He also uses repetition, which is very effective and therefore creates a certain feel for the poem, “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! The tone of The Soldier is very different to the one of Dulce et Decorum as it has very different content. The Soldier has a very uplifting tone this is acheived by using patroatic and romantic content. It is also very optimistic as it ideailized England, this is very unrealistic. On the other hand the tone of Dulce et decorum est is very realistic as is it shows the true, depressing facts of war. Both of the poems impact the reader greatly as they are both written about the same topic,War.
The Soldiers impacts the reader by showing a patoratic romantic view of the war. This impacts the reader as it shows great courage and the strong proud atmosphere which was drilled into everyone. On the other hand Dulce Et Decorum Est was written towards the very end of the War and impacts the reader by describing the horrific death of a soldier after being attacked by a gas bomb. This impacts the reader greatly as Wilfred Owen uses many strong language tecniques to create a vivid image. Although both poems are very much about World War One, they are both very different.
The Soldier was written during the beggining of the war when the whole country was full with patronism and belief. This is the reason for its upbeat tone and optimism. It is full with religious and patroatic content which is created using strong personiication and descriptions. Dulce Et Decorum est was written towards the end of the War,this is the reason for its very harsh realistic view on the war. Wilfred Owen writes about the shocking conditions and how a fellow soldier died whilst he stood their helpless. He uses strong imagary to create vivid images in the readers mind.
