Dulce et Decorum Est

• • "Bent double like old beggars under sacks"
  • vividly describes the mass exhaustion experienced by the soldiers by comparing them to old beggars as they have been significantly aged both mentally and physically by the constant warfare
• • "Men Marched asleep"
  • "many had lost their boots"
  • They have marched endlessly without any rest which exemplifies how draining war is
  • Due to the muddy conditions boots have been completely lost leaving the feet of soldiers exposed to infection and bruising. Despite this the soldiers remarkably continue on as they have no other options
• • "Drunk with fatigue"
  • The soldiers have become disoriented due to a lack of sleep - lost coordination - war is harsh
• • "Gas! GAS! Quick boys!"
  • "an ecstasy of fumbling"
  • Sudden sense of desperation and urgency as danger of attack is revealed
  • Soldiers panic and fight to survive - their death has become much more possible
• • "someone was still yelling out and stumbling"
  • A soldier was too late to escape and protect himself from the gas - paints vivid image of the struggle amongst the chaos
  • Deaths were horrifying and brutal as gas would cause suffocation leading to a slow painful death - consequences of war and using gas to inflict harm
• • "His hanging face like a devils sick of sin"
  • The misery and desperation of the soldier in death
  • Emphasizes the cruelty of war by explaining how even the devil himself would be horrified by the violence carried out in war - inhumane and unjust
• • "To children ardent for some desperate glory"
  • "The Old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria mori"
  • Owen despises the glorification of war towards children who are regularly encouraged to enlist in war for its honor and glory
  • Men were lied to as war is the opposite of sweet and nice - Vulnerable soldiers were naive and exploited by propaganda and government lies. Upon experiencing the cruelty of warfare first hand soldiers and regretful of their decision