1. War Poetry: ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen Comprehension and the writer’s intentions
Learning Objectives:
To develop an understanding of the events depicted in ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’
To evaluate the poet’s intentions in writing the poem

2. Starter Look again at these images
Make brainstorm in your book of adjectives to describe the experience of war
e.g. terrifying; horrific

3. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
How sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country

4. The order of events
In your book, write down the order of events in the poem
Soldiers walking through mud on the battlefield.
...

5. Owen’s presentation of war
What are your impressions of the way in which Owen presents war?
Write your ideas down as a list in your book.
Now find the most important 3 phrases from the poem which show Owen’s presentation of war. You should use your own judgement.
Write these quotations into your book under your list.

6. Why do you think that Owen called the poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’?
Group discussion
Why do you think that Owen called the poem ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’?
Discuss this as a group. You will be expected to feed back your ideas to the rest of the class.

7. Your task Write a response to this question: You should think about:
What do you think Owen’s intention was in writing this poem?
You should think about:
What message he wanted to get across
Who he wanted to get this message across to
Sentence starters:
When he wrote ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ Wilfred Owen wanted to get across the message that...
He also wanted to remind people about...
Owen appears to have wanted to get his message across to...
He may also have wanted to...

8. Plenary Here are some examples of your work...
What have they done well?
What could they improve?