1. By Wilfred Owen 8 March 1893 – 4 November 1918
Dulche Et Decourm Est
By Wilfred Owen
8 March 1893 – 4 November 1918

2. Dulche Et Decourm Est By Wilfred Owen Learning Objectives
As we study this poem you will learn:
The story of the poem
More about the terms, Imagery, alliteration & personification
Invented words
About the life of a soldier in WW1
The life of Wilfred Owen
The meaning of the title

3. Common Core Standards Objectives - 1
In these lessons we will continue learning how to:
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says.
(Quote!) [CC R.L.1]
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze it in detail.
[CC.9-10.R.L.2]
Provide an objective summary of the text. [CC.9-10.R.L.2]
Analyze how complex characters interact with others and advance the
plot or develop the theme over the course of a text. [CC.9-10.R.L.3]
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the
text. [CC.9-10.R.L.4 ]
Analyze how structure contributes to the overall meaning and
aesthetic impact of the work. [CC R.L.5]
Analyze a text to determine symbolism, irony, metaphor and subtext.
[CC R.L.6]

4. Common Core Standards Objectives - 2
In these lessons we will continue learning how to:
Read closely to determine what the text says and make logical
inferences from it citing specific textual evidence to support
conclusions drawn from the text. [CC.K-12.R.R.1]
Determine central ideas or themes of a text analyzing and
summarising their development. [CC.K-12.R.R.2]
Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and
interact over the course of a text. [CC.K-12.R.R.3]
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text and analyze
how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. [CC.K-12.R.R.4]
Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences,
paragraphs, and larger portions of the text relate to each other and
to the whole. [CC.K-12.R.R.5]
Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style
of a text. [CC.K-12.R.R.6]

5. Common Core Standards Objectives - 3
In Writing the assignment on this poem we will:
Write a clear and precise narrative which develops real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. [CC.9-10.W.3 & CC.9-10.W.4 ]
Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or
observation, establishing one or multiple points of view, and
introducing a narrator and/or characters to create a smooth
progression of experiences or events. [CC.9-10.W.3.a]
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description,
reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events,
and/or characters which form a coherent whole.
[CC.9-10.W.3.b & CC.9-10.W.3.c]
Use precise words and phrases, details, and sensory language to
convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and
characters. [CC.9-10.W.3.d]
Provide a conclusion that reflects on what is experienced, observed,
or resolved over the course of the narrative. [CC.9-10.W.3.e]
Develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, to focus on addressing what is most significant for a specific
purpose and audience. [CC.9-10.W.5]

6. Common Core Standards Objectives - 4
In Writing the assignment on this poem we will:
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and
usage when writing or speaking. [CC L.1 & CC L.1.a]
Use reference resources such as dictionaries to resolve issues of punctuation &
usage. [CC L.1.b, CC L.4.c CC L.4.d]
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization,
punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling when writing.
[CC L.2, CC L.2.a & CC L.2.b]
Apply knowledge of language to vary syntax for effect and to help understand
how language functions in different contexts. [CC L.3 & CC L.3.a]
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words and phrases. [CC L.4]
Use context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. [CC L.4.a]
Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different
meanings or parts of speech. [CC L.4.b]
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and
nuances in word meanings. [CC L.5]
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., hyperbole, paradox) in context and
analyze their role in the text. [CC L.5.a]

7. Dulche Et Decourm Est By Wilfred Owen Starter
Write down whatever you know about World War 1 :
When it happened?
Where it happened?
Who was involved?
What form did the war take?
How many men were killed?

8. Dulche Et Decourm Est By Wilfred Owen Starter
Write down whatever you know about World War 1.
War in Europe with Britain, France, USA (eventually) and allies fighting Germany. Most of the fighting in Belgium & France with the soldiers fighting from trenches often only a few meters apart. Huge death toll: 65 million men were mobilised to fight, 8.5mill were killed and 21 million were wounded. At the time it was known as ‘The Great War.’

9. By Wilfred Owen Mini Task 1 Write down what you think the title means.
Dulche Et Decourm Est
By Wilfred Owen
Mini Task 1
Write down what you think the title means.

10. Dulche Et Decourm Est By Wilfred Owen Mini Task 1
Write down what you think the title means.
‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori', means 'it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country'. It is taken from an ode (poem) by the Roman poet Horace's which talks about the glories of dying for your country:
He plunges through a tide of blood!
What joy, for fatherland to die!

11. Dulche Et Decourm 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 flound'ring 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. 

12. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Story Of The Poem
Mini Task 2
Write down what you think the ‘story of the poem’ is.

13. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Story Of The Poem 1
Mini Task 2 –
Write down what you think the ‘story of the poem’ is.
A group of soldiers during WW1 are on their way back from the trenches and fighting on the front line when a miss- directed gas shell lands behind them. The men frantically try to get their crude gas masks on but one man does not fit his quickly enough and inhales some of the poison gas. The gas starts to react with the fluid in his lungs and he starts to choke to death. The other soldiers know they can do nothing to save their comrade and even though he is in agony they place him on to a field casualty cart.

14. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Story Of The Poem 2
Mini Task 2
Write down what you think the ‘story of the poem’ is.
The start of the poem seems to be written in the present and the graphic description of the men and this gas attack seems immediate and real. However the poem is set in the past and the poet is recalling events that continue to haunt his dreams.
At the end of the poem the poet asks if we now agree with the ancient philosopher Horace who wrote “It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country.”

15. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Structure Of The Poem
Mini Task 3
Write down how you think the poem is structured or composed. Mention stanzas, rhyme and line length.
Key feature

16. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Structure Of The Poem
Mini Task 3
Write down how you think the poem is structured or composed.
The poem is composed of 3 Stanzas and uses alternate rhyming couplets with the exception of the last three lines.
The first two stanzas have 8 lines. The final stanza has 11 lines.
Mini Task 4
Why are the last three lines different?
Key feature

17. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Structure Of The Poem
Mini Task 4
Why are the last three lines different?
The change in structure and rhyme scheme draws attention to and puts an emphasis on the last two lines which carry the ironic message of the poem.
Mini Task 5
What is the Key Feature of this poem?
From each stanza give one powerful or disturbing example of the key feature you identified.
Key feature

18. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Structure Of The Poem
Mini Task 5
What is the Key Feature of this poem? Imagery
From each stanza give one powerful or
disturbing example of the key feature you
identified.
Almost the entire poem is imagery, so any line/image will do as long as you have selected one from each stanza. What I am interested in though is what you found powerful or disturbing.
Key feature

19. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 
Mini Task 6
Describe the scene created by the imagery used in the opening line.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

20. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 6
The soldiers are ‘bent double’ from the weight of the kit and equipment they are carrying back from the front line trenches.
Instead of the smart ‘Tommy's’ who had left England a few short months ago, the imagery Owen uses establishes that the mud from living and fighting in the trenches had reduced them to looking like beggars.
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

21. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through
sludge, 
Mini Task 7
What does the term ‘Hags’ mean and why is it effective here?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

22. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed
through sludge, 
Note: The alliteration on ‘knock-kneed
Hag: An old woman considered ugly
or frightful.
Mini Task 7
What does the term ‘Hags’ mean and why is it effective here?
Trench warfare had also taken a physical toll as these fit young men had now been reduced to something like crippled old women - ‘hags’ as they dragged themselves, cursing, through the muddy battlefields of France to some well earned rest.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

23. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
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. 
Mini Task 8
Why has the poet used the words ‘haunting’ & ‘trudge’ ?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

24. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 8
Why has the poet used the words ‘haunting’ & ‘trudge’ ?
The ‘flares’ are burning projectiles fired into the night sky to illuminate the battlefield or the no-man’s-land between the opposing trenches. They cast an unsteady, glaring light over the land which Owen describes as ‘haunting’. The imagery here helps establish it is night time and create atmosphere.
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. 
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

25. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem 3
Mini Task 8
Why has the poet used the words ‘haunting’ & ‘trudge’ ?
The men are exhausted and instead of marching as soldiers would be expected to do, by using ‘trudge’ Owen creates a clear image of the manner in which the men drag themselves back from the front line towards their rest station. Even the thought of getting away from the fighting for a few days is not enough to make them move with any sort of energy.
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. 
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

26. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem 4
Mini Task 9
What is the central image that Owen uses in these lines?
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;
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

27. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 9
What is the central image that Owen uses in these lines?
Feet!
Mini Task 9a
Why?
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;
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

28. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 9a
Why are feet the central image that Owen uses in these lines?
The British Army boot was ill-suited to trench warfare as it was not at all waterproof. If the laces rotted the boot could easily get sucked off in the muddy trenches.
Because the boots could not keep the soldiers feet dry, soldiers suffered from a condition known as ‘Trench Foot’.
This is caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary and cold conditions and the feet literally begin to rot away. No wonder Owen describes the men as ‘blood shod’ and ‘lame’.
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;
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

29. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 9b
What is the point the poet is trying to make in these lines?
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;
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

30. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 9b
What is the point the poet is trying to make in these lines?
In this part of the first stanza Owen really emphasises how tired the men were by saying they ‘marched asleep’ and were ‘drunk with fatigue’ to the point of being blinded.
Note: The alliteration on ‘Men
marched’.
‘Blood-shod’ is also a word Owen invented for this poem. It is a combination of
slip shod - Slovenly in appearance,
shabby or seedy;
Bloodshot - Red and inflamed
Shod - to wear shoes.
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;
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

31. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
Mini Task 10
Why were the shells ‘disappointed’?
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.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

32. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 1
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.
Mini Task 10
Why were the shells ‘disappointed’?
They weren’t, they couldn’t be, they are lumps of metal full of gas! It is the gunners who are ‘disappointed’ as they had missed their intended target in the trenches and the shells had ‘dropped behind’ the front line to fall among this group of retreating soldiers. So this is an example of personification
So tired were the men that they did not hear the gas shell that fell behind them. Unlike normal shells they did not explode on impact, but made a whistling sound (hooted) as the gas was released.
Note: The personification on ‘disappointed’.
and the sensory (sound) imagery on
‘hooted’
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

33. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! –  An ecstasy of fumbling,  Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; 
Mini Task 11
What happens to pace and tone in the opening words of Stanza 2?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

34. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! –  An ecstasy of fumbling,  Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; 
Mini Task 11
What happens to pace and tone in the opening words of Stanza 2?
After the slow and even ‘weary’ pace of the opening stanza there is a sudden dramatic change here to a rapid pace with the repetition of ‘Gas’ and the urgency required to fit the gas masks ‘just in time’.
The word ‘ecstasy’ is used ironically here. Being in an ecstatic state is something we normally associate with pleasure, not with a terrifying life or death situation. The joy comes once the mask is safely fitted.
Note:
The personification on clumsy ~ it’s the
men that are clumsy in their panic, not the
gas masks
and alliteration/ enjambment on ‘fumbling,
fitting’.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

35. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
Mini Task 12
Describe the events of these two lines in your own words.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

36. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
Mini Task 12
Describe the events of these two lines in your own words.
One man did not get his mask on in time and he is left ‘floundering’ ie. thrashing around in agony as if he were on fire or drowning in a poisoned pool.
Note: Lime was a chemical that used to
be spread on graves as it aids
decomposition. It is an extremely
alkaline substance.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

37. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,  As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
Mini Task 13
What are the ‘misty panes’?
What is the principal imagery in these two lines?
Why is this use of imagery appropriate?
What happens to pace/tone here?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

38. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,  As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
Mini Task 13
What are the ‘misty panes’?
What is the principal imagery in these two lines?
Why is this use of imagery appropriate?
What happens to pace/tone here?
The ‘misty panes are the glass circles in the mask which have become opaque with condensation.
Green, which is from the colour of the glass or the gas or both, but it creates an eerie feel to this section.
The green light leads to the green sea metaphor and then on to the graphic image of the soldier choking on the gas, as if he was drowning.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

39. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,  As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
Mini Task 13
What happens to pace/tone here?
The change in pace/tone here is from the frantic energy of the previous few lines to a slower pace and more sombre and reflective tone.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

40. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
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.
Mini Task 14
What happens to the time frame of the poem here?
Why does the poet do this?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

41. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
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 . . . 
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.
Mini Task 14
What happens to the time frame of the poem here?
Why does the poet do this?
The time now moves to the ‘present’ so the events described in the poem are all set in the poet’s recent past.
Wilfred Owen then allows you to see the reality of his own war experience through his eyes. The vivid imagery in the description of the soldier plunging at him (sea metaphor again) conveys the helpless horror he felt here.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

42. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 2
Note: another ‘new’ word ~ ‘guttering.’ The word means a trough for taking water away from a roof or a flame on the point of going out. By using graphic sensory (sound) imagery here Owen seems to want it to also indicate the spluttering or gurgling sound the dying man is probably making.
Historical Note:
The horrors that Owen witnessed did cause him to have recurring nightmares which he needed help for when he was in hospital in England. It was while he was in hospital that he started writing his first war poems as a form of ‘therapy.’
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 . . . 
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.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

43. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace  Behind the wagon that we flung him in,  
Mini Task 15
What is the key word in this couplet?
Why is it important or effective?
What do these lines tell us about the poet?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

44. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace  Behind the wagon that we flung him in,  
Mini Task 15
What is the key word in this couplet?
Why is it important or effective?
What do these lines tell us about the poet?
Flung.
The wounded soldier, who is not dead, but soon will be, is ‘flung’ into the back of a medical wagon with little dignity, care or concern because the soldiers know there is nothing they can do for him.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

45. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace  Behind the wagon that we flung him in,  
Mini Task 15
What is the key word in this couplet?
Why is it important or effective?
What do these lines tell us about the poet?
The use of the word ‘dreams’ again references the nightmares that Owen suffered from as a result of his war experiences. and as before he provides some very graphic imagery to illustrate the cause of his distress.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

46. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
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,   
Mini Task 16
List the images Owen uses to suggest the effect the gas has had on the soldier.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

47. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
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,   
Mini Task 16
List the images Owen uses to suggest the effect the gas has had on the soldier.
terrified eyes - he knows he is
going to die.
face ‘writhing’ in agony.
a face ‘hanging’ as he loses
muscular control.
blood foaming from his lungs as
they are eaten away by the
hydrochloric acid the gas has
turned into upon contact with
moisture.
and then finally the blistering of
the soldiers skin from acid burns.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

48. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
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.
Mini Task 17
What does Owen try to do in the last three lines of the poem?
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

49. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
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.
Mini Task 17
What does Owen try to do in the last three lines of the poem?
Owen now directly address you, his reader, expecting a sympathetic response to his point of view as he calls you his ‘friend’; and he asks you to question any patriotic prejudices you might have by asking if you agree with Horace, the ancient Greek philosopher, that “It is sweet and honourable to die for your country.”
He attacks the patriotism that drew so many young men to their deaths in the trenches by inferring that it is only ‘children’ who would respond with such naïve enthusiasm to this desperate call to fight for ‘glory.’
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

50. Dulche Et Decourm Est - The Meaning Of The Poem Stanza 3
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.
Mini Task 17
What does Owen try to do in the last three lines of the poem?
He calls the patriotic attitude summed up in Horace’s quote a lie. In the poem he presents his version of the truth about the horrors war and shows there is nothing sweet honourable or noble in a death such as this soldier suffered.
Form & Structure Slide….rhyming couplets

57. A final thought. This is considered by many to be an anti war poem, but I’m not entirely sure it is. Wilfred Owen was no coward. He fought heroically for his country and was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery. He could have easily retired from front line fighting after he was wounded, instead he felt it was his duty to be with the me he lead and so he returned to fight (and die) in France. That is not the action of a man who does not believe in doing his duty. Unfortunately he found it increasingly difficult to come to terms with what he saw as a senseless waste of life that was taken with no honour or dignity because men were no longer fighting men but the machinery of war and industrial scale death.

58. The brief life of Wilfred Owen.
WW1Total Killed - 8,281,250

60. Assignment:
How effectively does Wilfred Owen use imagery and other poetic devices to make Dulche Et Decorum Est a haunting and effective portrayal of war?
words by 25 Sept.
WW1Total Killed - 8,281,250