How Does Wilfred Owen Use Imagery In Dulce Et Decorum Est

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The Wrongly Viewed Soldier: An Explication of Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” The Latin words “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” mean it is sweet and honorable/fitting to die for one’s country. Wilfred Owen uses this Latin phrase and the end of his honestly, gruesome poem to show that a soldier dying in war is not as sweet and honorable when one experiences and/or has to watch it happen to others. Owen successfully proves his point through his symbolism, imagery, and diction technique. To further enforce that dying for one’s country is not as glorious as it is implied to be, Owen incorporates symbolic phrases. He uses “haunting flares” (line 3) to symbolize the traumatizing and scarring memories soldiers keep long after the war has ended, and uses “distant rest” (line 4) to reveal the time in which they have left, assuming they can make it through the war to go home. By choosing these specific expressions, he formulates the repercussions that can come with having participated in war and the long lasting effects.…show more content…
Because of his weary state, he most likely will not survive the next encounter. This imagery was used by Wilfred Owen not only to support his point, but to appeal to the reader’s imagination to make it more surreal as to how the soldiers looked, felt, and the trials they went through. It also assists in helping Owen make the reader sympathize and understand that war is not an easy place to be and even though one can receive honor for dying, honor is not worth even a small portion of

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