Essay Comparing Pro Patria And Dulce Et Decorum Est
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Although Owen Seaman’s Pro Patria and Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est deal with the subject of war, both poems are distinctly different in their treatment of the subject. The themes of these two poems are evidently different as Pro Patria’s theme is nationalism and patriotism, while Dulce et Decorum Est theme is the horrors of war. In Pro Patria, the lines “Forth, then, to front that peril of the deep/ With smiling lips and in your eyes the light, /Steadfast and confident, of those who keep/ Their storied scutcheon bright” (13-16) illustrate the admiration given to those who fight in the war. In contrast, Dulce et Decorum Est theme depicts the reality faced by those on the frontlines, which can be noted by the line “[a]s under a green sea…show more content… However, in Dulce et Decorum Est, the setting is on the battlefield where the soldiers retreating back from combat are ambushed with a gas attack. This is demonstrated by the lines, “towards our distant rest began to trudge” (4) and “[g]as! GAS” (9)! Third, the tone further contrasts the topic of war. In Pro Patria the tone is patriotic and optimistic as the narrator commends England and the war by saying “where Honour calls you, go you must” (2) and “at least know/You have your quarrel just” (3-4). However, the tone in Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est is anger as the narrator realistically describes the exhaustion of the soldiers as “knock-kneed”(2), “coughing like hags”(2), “marched asleep” (5), and “drunk with fatigue”(7). Lastly, imagery in both two poems differs. In Pro Patria, “warrior sons” (35), “brotherhood” (24), “scutcheon” (12) and “prowess” (34) are diction that show England to be strong and courageous. In contrast, Dulce et Decorum Est uses auditory and visual imagery accurately to describe the effect the war had on the soldiers and the gas