Dulce Et Decorum Est: Analysis

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and the irony of “the old lie,” of the title.
In stanza one, Owen describes the soldiers as they set off towards the army base camp after a spell at the battle front. His use of similes such as “Bent double, like old beggars,” and “coughing like hags,” help me to depict the soldiers’ poor health and depressed state of mind. Owen makes us picture the soldiers as ill, disturbed and utterly exhausted. He shows that this is not the government-projected stereotype of a soldier, in gleaming boots and crisp new uniform, but is the true illustration of the poor mental and physical state of the soldiers. By telling us that many of the platoon are barefoot, Owen gives us an idea of how awful the soldiers’ journey already is; it then gets even worse. Owen tells us that the soldiers, although they must have been trained, still do not notice the deadly mustard gas shells being fired at them from behind, such is the extent of their exhaustion. I feel complete sympathy for the soldiers of ...

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