Essay Descriptions

• Children ardent for some desperate glory

  the word children makes the reader understand that these youthful soldiers will never get the chance to grow older. ardent shows the desperation to find good in war. These young men are being killed for no good reason
• The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

  Wilfred Owen is saying that it is not sweet and right to die for your country. He disagrees with patriots who believe these young men should fight tooth and nail even risking their lives for their country. Capital L to emphasise that war being glorious is a lie - that we are being deceived
• Being the Wagon we flung him in

  No respect can be given to the dying man - he is flung in the wagon suggesting harsh treatment, there is no time to help or bury him, the dead soldiers are not being handled with care. The other soldiers know there is no hope for him. He is already dead to them. They are desensitized, cant show emotion of they will be unable to fight
• His hanging face like a devils sick of sin

  The gas has caused the soldiers face to collapse. The war has brought too much suffering, even for the devil to handle. There has been so much death and destruction that even the devil is sick of the pain and suffering and innocent lives lost during the war
• Before my helpless sight

  In this stanza Owen relives the experience of the attack. He is always haunted by the man he could not save. The poet will never be able to forget the image embedded in his head. Also, the mans sight isn't what is helpless but the man himself. There is nothing he could do to help the dying man. He feels useless
• In all my dreams... Guttering choking drowning

  Stanza 3 is the shortest stanza of the poem, making it stand out from the rest. Brings us out of the past experience and into a horrific present,. Owen will remember this for the rest of his life, even once he is away from war. He has recurring nightmares. Using all and repeating my emphasises he will always remember this traumatic experience
• He plunges at me guttering choking

  The poet uses sound to further relay the horror of war. Guttering and choking is onomatopoeic. The hard tt and k sounds stick in the throat mimicking the noises made by the dying soldier. We can only imagine the pain endured during this vile ugly hopeless death. We can hear the man choking on his own mucus, again illuminating the horror of the man unable to clear his throat
• As under a green sea I saw him drowning

  The first phrase illuminates the fact that it feels like the men are under water, they are submerged by the green haze of the gas. The repetition of the word green reminds the reader that the mustard gas is everywhere almost as if the gas is surrounding us aswell. It is difficult for the poet to see clearly but the image is so shocking that he sees the man drowning clearly
• I

  He witnessed all of this he was there in the trenches. It is the first time owen has referred to the experience using I. by using I rather than we is almost as if the poet takes full responsibility upon himself, even though there was nothing he or the others could do
• Gas! GAS! Quick boys!

  Stanza open with a sense of urgency. Use of repetition capital letters and exclamation marks highlights the panicked and raised voices warning men of the imminent danger of the gas attack. Short sentence creates a staccato rhythm through the use of monosyllabic words to heighten the tension
• Like a man in fire or lime

  Shows the severity of the gas attack. Gas is bringing his body as though he has been set on fire. Owen makes the point that this is definitely not a glorious way to die. A horrifying image that shows how much pain and suffering the soldier had to endure
• Men marched asleep

  The solders are not literally asleep - they are suffering from extreme exhaustion. men marched is effective as this is what we would expect of the soldiers, marching in unison. The soldiers are like zombies, the walking dead.
• Drunk with fatigue

  The men are not actually drunk, but are acting as if they are intoxicated because of the amount of pressure that have been under. They are so exhausted, not steady on their feet. They are struggling to walk because of they exhaustion and because of the condition of the ground they are fighting on
• Bent double like old beggars under sacks

  Here he highlights the horrendous physical and emotional condition of the men. Gives the reader a clear image and understanding of how the war has horrible destroyed the wellbeing of the soldiers. Bent double proves that the men have been at war for so long they are no longer able to stand up straight. Using old makes the reader imagine the men as being reduced to aged figures. the word beggars portrays the thought of the soldiers being dirty and filthy
• Coughing like hags

  Owen using the word hags which conjures the image of old aged women. The poet is comparing these young youthful men to old ugly women. Own used these images to help the reader understand how horribly twisted and deformed the bodies of the soldiers have become