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 tired, outstripped Five-Nines 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 floundering 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.
Commentary
I tend to dislike topicality, but now is as good a time as any…
[The title is from a line of Horace - “It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country.”]
If ever proof were needed that the 19th century was truly over, it came in the shape of the First World War. The horrors of that conflagration scarred the English psyche to an extent that marked the end of an era - no more would sentimental Victorian poets talk about death and honour in the same breath. More than anything else, the conflict that decimated a generation of young Europeans opened the public’s eyes to the sheer inhumanity of large-scale trench warfare, the pointlessness of it all.
Owen’s genius was his ability to celebrate the ordinary without profaning it; he had a deep and abiding sympathy for his fellow soldiers, while his own undisputed courage in action and sense of duty gave him the moral authority to denounce the war (and War, for that matter) for what it was - a sickness, a corruption, a festering evil of which no good could possibly come.
Yes, I know that the language I use is strong, but then, so is Owen’s verse. He does not hold back or disguise his horror at what he saw -
" ... the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores... "
- and this, too, is an aspect of his greatness; by using the natural rhythms of speech, by soiling his hands with solid, everyday words, he cuts closer to the heart of experience than did any of the genteel Victorians. This is what gives him his power; this is what makes his poetry real.
Oh, and the second syllable of the third line is pretty good, too :-).
— Thomas
Biography
Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 and died in action in 1918. He was a man of great sensitivy, and an intellectual, plunged against his will into the holocaust of an atrocious war. He responded to the war, which horrified and disgusted him, in a way which was never simple. In one letter he wrote ‘My senses are charred’, but there is certainly no evidence in his surviving poetry that they were numbed.
[LitCrit]
… Owen came to see the war, not as a disease to be cured by purely political action, nor as a crusade against evil, but as a major tragedy to which the only appropriate response was compassion. ‘The poetry is in the Pity’, he wrote in the much-quoted introduction he had prepared for his first book of poems…
… In his best poems, he writes not only about war, but about war as a metaphor for the human condition. This give his best work a far-reaching gravity and moral force which will never date and which makes his poems applicable to any situation in which people must suffer and die.
[Today’s poem]
… As so often, Owen seems in this poem to have taken over some of the vocabulary and imagery of late 19th century poetry and injected a new realism into it, [reminding] us that some of the public horror of the First World War had already been experienced and predicted by the agonies and breakdowns aof decadent poets from Baudelaire onwards…
– from ‘Poetry 1990 to 1975’, George Macbeth
Trivia
The English composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) mixed several poems
or fragments of poems by Owen (“ Anthem for Doomed Youth”, “ The Next War”, “ Sonnet (On seeing a piece of our heavy artillery brought into action)”, “ Futility”, “ The Parable of the Old Man and the Young”, “ The End”, “ At a Calvary near the Ancre” and “ Strange Meeting”) with liturgical texts from the “Missa pro defunctis” in his War Requiem, composed in 1962 at the occasion of the re-opening of the cathedral of Coventry, bombed during the second World War.
[Post Scriptum]
“Grey highrise buildings…
When I unmask the forger
I will wring his neck.”
(though I must admit the spoof post was one of the best laughs I’ve had in ages - simply hilarious… and I was most flattered by the comparison to Mr Toad).
thomas.
The 14-year old Haiku Wizard.
Show 31 commentsHide comments
From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Lynn Corbett · 17 July 2000
Owen’s terrific use of diction brings this poem to life – imagery, a very important factor in poetry, is prevalent all throught his writings in ‘Dolce et Decorum est.’ His tone - depression, lack of hope, and, of course, sadness, reveals his message without writing pages of verse; he accomplishes his message very quickly in the poem, and makes the audience feel like they are actually experiencing what the narrator is going through.
A.V.C.
Mon. July 17, 2000
yiuhome · 28 March 2001
Can any one tell me some of the techniqures about Dulce Et Decorm Est? Also i want to know is there any important lines and Can you Explain the line “ Gas, Gas, Quick boys” to me? Thx
George Sotiropoulos · 5 May 2002
a very moving poem with much truth, that gives a great indication that we all take life for granted, and we often fall selfish to our personal needs and wants and not wanting the wealth of happiness, love, and peace
peter sotiropoulos
DVCIMVS · 1 August 2002
This poem is strong, however it merely brushes what battle is like. One thing I hate about our school system is how it picks apart such poems if you want to call it a poem. It’s more like an ulugy or a last breath of wisdom in vain.
“Gas! Gas! Gas!” is an order given to have everyone put their NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) gear on. In this case being The Great War, they were ordered to put their gas masks on. There are many ways to give this order: Three honks of a horn, three percussions etc.
I too thought it’d be great to join the infantry and go to war… Now I’d almost protest anyone joining. If someone has never been in battle, they don’t have the slightest clue. It’d take a year of writing to describe everything. The closest thing to describing the smell is to imagine hundreds of rotting carcasus rotting everywhere. Unless you’ve been out in the wild and stumbled across a rotting animal, you probably don’t know what I mean. You could try leaving a pound of beef out on the counter for a week and take a good huff of it.
Cathy schaller · 14 September 2002
GAS, GAS is sill used, only now it’s used three times. From the time someone yells the alarm, you have 9 seconds to don, seal, and clear your gasmask. Any slower and you risk injury or death. Someone was sounding the alarm.
John Wainwright · 26 October 2002
Just a small but relavent point. The line is Gas GAS, not Gas Gas. John
Freakstomp06 · 26 April 2003
Hello,
I have read your comments on Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est”. I was wondering if you would be able to explain the poem to me a little better. I have read it a few times, but am not able to grasp the true meaning of it. I would like to know the meaning of the last two lines please. Thank-you very much for your help.
Ozandgemfoxglove · 27 April 2003
Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori means ‘It’s a sweet and seemly thing to die for your country. He has used Latin as he thinks that the saying ‘it is a sweet and seemly thing to die for your country’ is old fashioned like the language of Latin.
adam · 19 May 2003
The title is ironic
Jon · 3 November 2003
You state the title comes from hoarace and means “It is sweet and honourable to die for one’s country.”
This is wrong “Dulce Et Decorum Est” means It is sweet and right.
I would also like to point out my favorite metaphor in this porm “guttering” Guttering is the connotation of a candle flickering out. This is also a metaphor for the soldiers death.
- warjunkie
Angela Lebrun · 9 December 2003
I am a year 11 student who has just completed my end-of-year Literature exam on Wilfred Owen’s poetry. I would just like to mention here that I throughly enjoyed his work, and I would encourage those who like ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ to also look at what is one of my all time favourite poems; ‘Futility’.
- Hollie
slawek · 20 February 2004
Hello!!!
I’M a student from Poland. I’m desperately looking for any information and the analysis of a poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est”. I foun Your address reading your comments on the poem. I’m just wondering if You are able to provide me with some information on that topis. If it is possible I’d really appreciate that. Best wishes
Malgorzata
vd · 14 April 2004
hey I’m from Venezuela, and I just want to know if you ever found an analysis of the poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est”. I really, really need the information!!! I have a paper to do! but I can’t find any analysis of it….if you could help me with a web page or something like that, I will apreciate it a lot thanks…
V.D
Stephen Forbes · 1 June 2004
hey hollie- i just read something you have written in a wilfred owen website. i need to know much on my two favourite poems- dulce. . .and futility- anything you can send me?
Shane Warne · 2 August 2004
Hi everyone,
my name is Ryan Henrahan
the poem dulce, is mainly about women, the way i interperet this poem, is that i stalk my prey before i pounce, the gas represents the the very beautiful women in the world, basically the ones that revolve around me, my bitches.
-=DanG the ultimate predator=-
bye for now ladies =)
Nick Buick - Brisbanelife.com · 3 September 2004
To the guy who couldn’t grasp the poem, basically the poet (Owen) is saying ‘war is bad’. Sure we all know that now, but the relevance here as that he wrote this in a time when people glorified war, and the cause. Which is why he quoted the Latin saying at the end, and in his title. Which I was taught was translated to “it is sweet and noble to die for your country”.
Thomas Keaveney · 1 December 2004
This is a great poem. It really captures the horrors of war as well as the incompetent leaders who led those brave men to their death.
Peter Wright · 22 December 2004
I’m an A level student and i havn’t done this poem since year 9 that’s about 3 years ago, but it is one i have always remembered. It is a truly powerful meaningful work of words. his grasp and use of the english language is astounding and he is able to manipulate words to paint a vivid and terrifying picture of the horrific reality of trench warfare in the mind of the reader.
ok and for the guy who’s gotta b a little bit of a nymphomaniac… you wish, get a life and stop thinking with ur dick
Gurdev Kalirai · 18 January 2005
it was good
SndrWllbnk · 10 February 2005
good poem
TOxIcJeNjO · 7 March 2005
on the dulce et decorm est you say that you use to want to join the military … however you didnt. yet you critcize those who want to, or protest. you say that you preach to them the smell of the rotting bodies, but how do you kno if you never were there? you read books? poems? well maybe they did to. but you shouldnt preach what you dont kno for sure!
mabonham · 2 May 2005
Anyone who really wants to grasp the meaning of this poem should see the film “Regeneration” with James Wilby, Jonathan Pryce, and Jonny Lee Miller. The opening sequence of the corpses in the mud and trenches of WWI says it all. The film, from the book by Pat Barker, fictionalizes the “treatment” of, among others, the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen ( who meet there) at a military mental facility in Scotland. The poem is voiced over during the film and at the end we see Owen’s body in the canal.
Ryan Clements · 4 October 2005
Ryan Henrahan: What the heck? Are you some kind of stalker or something?
Jean & Jerry · 30 October 2005
Sexc I am, wicked this poem is
Mike217 · 22 August 2006
The actual translation of the title is… “It is sweet and meet to die for one’s country. Sweet! and decorous!”
Vikkilynn91 · 27 September 2006
this is an amazing poem. i am currently studing it in my standard grade english course and to start with i thought ‘ this is boring’ but after i ead i an analysed it i came to understand the poem alot better and know if anything i would say it is my favourite poem ever. i managed to write a 8 page essay on A4 papaer on this poem and my english folio has now been passed with a grade 1 english. !!!
andyredge · 13 December 2006
Just a few small but relevant points:
1) The phrase “Dulce et Decorum est” actually means “sweet and fitting.”
2) The last line of the first verse is “of disappointed shells that dropped behind.”
3) The line is “Gas! GAS!”
-Andy R. Edge
Mike Jones · 28 December 2006
Owen, strongly influenced by the emotions of direct combat, uses this poem to express a new war horror born in WWI. The soldier’s antidote for fear in battle is ACTION. But the killing innovations of WWI- long range artillery, gas, long range snipers, landmines, tanks, aerial bombardment- meant that often as not there was no enemy in sight to go into action against. The only thing one could do was wait, and hope not to die. Because there was often no visible enemy to repel or attack, the overwhelming feeling of helplessness one experiences in combat was much greater in WWI than previous conflicts. Note that the setting for this poem is not direct combat- it is a march. He hears the artillery shells- the Five-Nines – fall behind him and hears them releasing the gas. Gas shells often do not explode, but rather hiss as the gas is released, Owen describes it as a “hoot”. I would describe it as a long fart or squeal which starts loudly and quickly tapers off. Sounding perhaps sort of tired, a tired insult hurled by an unseen enemy, not worth a response. Although it is a deadly attack the men, themselves bone tired, do not go into immediate action as they would if they were being fired on by small arms. The danger is more insidious, and therefore, all the more scary when it is finally recognized: “gas,GAS”. The only defense is donning of the gas masks. This action, to a person in that situation, might well be ecstasy- SOMETHING that can be done to combat the invisible death approaching. One man is too slow, to tired perhaps, he dies. And that’s the whole point of the poem. In Owen’s war, too often a soldier was just dying for his country, and not at all fighting for it. You think maybe this poem was the inspiration for Patton’s famous “No son-of-a bitch ever won a war dying for his country…” line? You think maybe Patton, himself a WWI veteran, was trying to instill in his men the utter necessity to engage the enemy ruthlessly and doggedly at every opportunity, to avoid at all cost the type of senseless attrition that WWI was infamous for? Patton was of course known for his almost maniacal drive to continuously attack the enemy; he despised the thought of stopping and defending ground, to sit around and wait to die. Hey, I appreciate everyone’s comments on the war poems; I’m just an old soldier looking for some appropriate words to write on the latrine walls the next time you all send me back to some senseless conflict (it won’t be long now) and the war poem comments are very helpful.
-beentheredonethat
Brittney · 24 January 2007
I think this poem is very well written. I was a bit confused on the following line,
“If in some smothering dreams you too could pace” (line 19)
I understand that he is referring to how you would be walking behind them as they through the dead bodies on the wagon and such, but I’m a bit lost when I read “smothering dreams”. Is he relaying that the dream or memory of watching the dead being hauled off as bad and suffocating, or is it something else?
b.gregory6958 · 8 March 2008
I studied this poem many years ago as a student. I was impressed with it then, and time has not withered its power. Apologies if I am teaching granny to suck eggs, but I thought I’d mention that the ‘friend’ Owen alludes to was a woman called Jessie Pope, who at the time peddled the line about the sweetnes and dignity of dying for one’s country (secure in the knowledge that she would not be called upon to do this herself) and sent white feathers to the ‘cowards’ who wouldn’t fight. Owen’s use of the word ‘friend’ in this context is part of the poem’s dark irony, along with the title, as commented on by others.
Bambos
Lashey Sims · 19 April 2008
This is an absolutely amazing poem. But I would have to say to the person who says basically not to warn or even protest against the war or for people to go in it unless you have had personal experience, is that why do you need proof? There is nothing at all good about war. People say it is honorable. But how? to go off without changing anything and die leaving a depressed and saddened family behind. How is that good at all?! So many lives throughout our time have been taken because of war and Look we are in one now. and still no good is coming out of killing the enemy.We will just later find a new enemy. Wilfred Owen knew this and understood this just as many do and still we keep on repeating our past thinking it is helping.
TRUELY: A person cannot make a change if they are dead so how I MEAN HOW is war ever a GOOD THING?