Dulce et Decorum Est

1)The literal meaning of this imagery is that the soldier was hunch backing while walking like an old man because of the heavy bags that they have to bring to war. These can be shown from “Bent double” and “like old beggars”, which explained that the solider was bending his back while walking and was like an old man. However, the implied meaning is actually the fact that the soldiers were tired and do not want to move on anymore. By analyzing the first stanza of the poem, my impression of the soldier is that the soldier is weak and not prepared for the war. This can be shown from “Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots” and “Men marched asleep”. This showed that the soldiers were actually very weak and not prepared for the war.

2)The sound devices and imagery in the poem such as “GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,” helps to build up the tension in the poem as it vividly describes the war scene of releasing poison gas to knock out the enemies. Also, imagery such as “Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light” shows the chaotic scene of the war fight. Also, “clumsy helmets” is an imagery that shows the feelings of the soldiers at that point of times as they were so scared that even putting up a helmet is a difficult thing to do.

3)I think the poet wants to convey the message that war is bad, cruel and children should not be taught that it is right to die for your country. This can be shown from “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.” Which means it is sweet and right to die for your country. However, the word lie in the poem showed that the writer thinks that this was not the truth. Also, the phrase “Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,” showed that war was actually very cruel. I agree with the author’s point of view as war indeed took away the lifes of the innocents and most of the time, it is started off because countries could not talk things out amicably. War would cause both countries to suffer and the impact on the people emotionally would last forever. Thus, this trauma should be prevented at all cost