Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum 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 gas-shells dropping softly 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,
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.

Analysis: 

Dulce et Decorum Est is a poem written by Wilfred Owen in 1917.The strike of the title is written in Latin. This choice is functional to draw the reader attention right from the start. The ideal readers of the poem, since Owen is writing during the First World War, are common people and soldier. Indeed, even if the title is in Latin his meaning comes to light easily. Moreover, it can be a quotation. The curiosity raised by the title has the purpose to go on reading. Considering the general comprehension of the poem, the intelligent reader immediately gather the topic, which is the wickedness of the use of gas. The poem, which is made up into four different stanzas, as a matter of fact traces the consequences of the modern use of gas as a weapon of destruction.

In the first quatrain, the speaking voice focuses the attention on the difficulties and the efforts faced by soldiers at the frontline: “All went lame; all blind; / Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots”

The second quatrain, instead, appeals to sight and hearing. The simulated use of dialogue and the repetition of the word "GAS", in capital letters, convey to the reader the idea of a fast and cruel action. The speaker seems to be a general who urges his soldiers to annihilate the enemy. However, the speaking voice sees and recognises the enemy as a man like him.  It seems that the reader fights alongside the speaking voice and perceive with him the absurdity of war. The poet paints the scene, as the soldiers are quick to don their helmets to protect themselves from enemy fire.

The third quatrain represents the difficult memories of the speaking voice in having looked death in a soldier. The tragic images of war cannot be deleted, let alone removed.

The metaphor is developed in the last stanza, the longest one. Terrible image comes to the poet’s mind: the white eyes of the soldier and his face cut off by the gas. The enemy is innocent. He is a soldier like the speaking voice. Why he must die?

The answer is in the last two lines: Dulce et decorum est / pro patria mori. The end of the poem back to the title. The use of Latin almost projects the actions of "good soldiers" in a mythical time. You have to die for your country, thereby the war is well justified. However, is this enough to wipe out atrocity? Obviously not, it is an invitation to reflection.