Poem Analysis
In his poem Dulce Et Decorum Est, it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country, Wilfred Owen takes the opposite view of how England was viewing war. He changes the perception that people had about soldiers in battle. In the poem, he portrays soldiers as humans who were suffering, and the suffering could not even payback enough. This was unlike how people viewed soldiers as orderly, energetic, and well organized. However, Herbert Asquith takes a different stance that contrasts Wilfred Owen’s view. In his poem, The Volunteer, Herbert glorifies a clerk who joins the army and is later killed fighting for his country. He described the death of the clerk as an honorable one, and one that is worth, and the clerk would not want any compensation for his death.
In both poems, the authors portray the use of horses in the war, which was common in wars. Herbert described the horses and horse riders, who are the soldiers, to be very strong while approaching the battlefield. There is also the oriflamme, a flag that portrays solidarity and patriotism of the soldiers as they go to the war. They also have a strong belief that they have to win the battle to ensure that their country’s glory is retained by the oriflamme not falling. There is also the use of hearse that would carry the fallen soldiers. This is unlike the past where there were no automotive and dead soldiers who were carried on the soldiers. Wilfred Owen also recalls the horsemen in war. Though in his case, they are exhausted and worn out from the battle. He also mentions about the gas. This brings lucid imagery of a chemical warfare scene that is quite challenging for the soldiers who are at risk of dying from toxins from the gas. The soldiers also have gas masks and helmets that signify modernization that was not available in the past.
The poem describes the clerk to living a boring life just in an office, giving him ideas that he has not lived to his real purpose, which is being a volunteer. Such experience made him frustrated as he had a lot of heroic fantasies that he obtained through reading books. He was so eager to explore that side of life. The clerk believes that through fighting and dying for his country, he would get the true satisfaction he wanted in life. By fighting for his country, he entirely lives to his heroic dreams, thus achieving the purpose of his life. Owen rubbishes the regularly acknowledged theory that fighting for one’s country is a noble and celebrated thing to engage in. He shows the cruel experiences of life on the battlefield, where he portrays the soldiers to be weary from the war as many are injured and exhausted.
Owen dismisses the myth of war’s exaltation by depicting in-depth about the experiences of a gas attack. Through the use of imagery, he can appeal to all senses of the readers, causing shock about reality. He describes an ecstasy of fumbling that meant a chilling atmosphere as soldiers hurry to wear the masks and helmets, a scene that is full of sadness. Through the mechanized killing and trench warfare of World War I, the society has a different view of that heroism does not come from engaging in wars. Bravery in the twentieth century is for countries that can hold negotiations to solve their differences instead of conflict.