Essay; How Does Owen Bring The Horros Of War To Life

Essay; How Does Owen Bring The Horros Of War To Life

Wilfred   Owen critically discusses the shock and sadness of war experienced by the soldiers and conveys it to the readers in the poems 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' and 'Mental Cases' through bringing the horror of war to life. Owen effectively discusses the true sadness about war, of young men ushered by the home-front, in particular the women and the church to go to war to achieve honour and recognition. However the men who go to war become mentally and physically disabled from the violence and inhumane nature of war through the great loss of life. The young soldiers receive no honour from war and there was a great lack of recognition for them. The soldiers became dependent on the community at home after becoming disabled and before growing and experiencing independence, losing all quality of life.

In the poem 'Dulce Et Decorum Est', Owen explores the concept of the mental trauma suffered by the soldiers using first person in the statement “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight” to emphasise the extensive amount of mental trauma the soldiers suffered during war. The word choice of 'dreams' highlights the irony in this quote where even a scene as horrifying as this, is still incomparable to other encounters that he would qualify as nightmares.This idea is further explored in the inclusive language “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come from the froth-corrupted lungs”. The inclusive language and truncated sentence shocks the readers with horrifying depiction of a gas attack. The tone of reflection and horror emphasises the traumatic experience of the soldier and how he will always be haunted by it. This idea is further explored in 'Mental Cases', through the declaratory statement “Always they must see these things and hear them.” The finite words of 'Always' and 'must' create a sense of no escape for the soldiers from their overwhelming memories of war. The sensory imagery of 'see these things' and 'hear them' also suggest that the soldiers...