1. By Wilfred Owen
Dulce Et Decorum Est

2. To understand the context of the poem
Learning Intention
To understand the context of the poem

3. Wilfred Owen fought in the First World War
It was inspired by his experience in the war
The title is Latin for It is sweet and glorious
It was a famous saying at the time:
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
It is sweet and glorious to die for one’s country
What do you think this actually means?

4. World War I was a horrific war that devastated much of Europe
When it started, thousands of young men rushed to join the army
There was a strong feeling of patriotism
Patriotism: devotion and vigorous support of your country
This lessened as people began to realise how brutal and pointless much of the fighting was

5. Context

10. The poet

11. His regiment

12. His grave

13. The poem Do the 5Ws From which point of view is it told?
What is happening in the poem?
Write a short summary of the narrative
Break it down into three distinct sections
What do you think the poet is saying about war?

14. Who- the narrator is recalling the story
Where- the trenches
When- WW1
Why- to show that war is horrific and destroying a generation of young men

15. What?
The poet describes life in the trenches and sets the scene. He is describing how his platoon are retreating from the front line and going back to base to rest. They are exhausted and it is difficult to travel across the muddy ground.
There is a gas attack which causes panic and one soldier fails to fit his gas mask in time and dies a horrific death.
The narrator (Owen) recalls this incident in his nightmares. The soldier is thrown into a cart. There is a graphic description of the inhumane death the youth suffered. He criticises the politicians who use patriotic feeling to encourage young men to join up.

16. Analysis Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Simile comparing the young men to old worthless beggars carrying heavy weights.
This is appropriate as it shows how ruined these young soldiers are by the physical effects of war.

17. Understanding techniques
Look at the hand out and make sure you understand the words that have been highlighted
Look at the list of techniques on the other side and try to find and highlight some of these in the poem

18. Key terms Rhyme scheme- pattern of rhyme in a poem
Rhythm- the pattern of the poem. Often regular (same amount of syllables in each line) or irregular

19. Structure: rhythm and rhyme
Read through the poem again and try to identify the rhyme scheme
Pay particular attention to the sound of the words at the end of each line. Is there a rhyme?
Do the lines have the same amount of syllables? Is it regular?

20. Rhythm
Many of the lines are in iambic pentameter but this is broken quite often
Iambic pentameter : ten syllables per line
Evocative of the rhythm of the heart

21. DULCE ET DECORUM EST1
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,  Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,  Till on the haunting flares2 we turned our backs  And towards our distant rest3 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 hoots4  Of tired, outstripped5 Five-Nines6 that dropped behind.

22. Gas!7 Gas! Quick, boys! –  An ecstasy of fumbling,  Fitting the clumsy helmets8 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 panes10 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,11 choking, drowning.

23. 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 cud12  Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,  My friend, you would not tell with such high zest13  To children ardent14 for some desperate glory,  The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est  Pro patria mori.15