7/31/2019 Poetry Example

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Technique Quote from poem Possible meanings/Effect on the audience

Simile Bent double, like old beggars under sacks Creates an image of tired men. The comparison to beggars implies

the men feel as desperate and as tired as beggars. The use of the

word old to describe young soldiers (most were around 21 years

of age) suggests that the experience of war has aged them

prematurely.Simile Knock-kneed, coughing like hags The comparison to hags (old women) heightens the image of the

desperation of the men.

Pun But limped on, blood-shod Blood shod describes the bloodied feet of the soldiers. May also be

a reference to trench-foot.Many soldiers fighting in theFirst

World War suffered from trench foot. This was an infection of the

feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches

men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being

able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go

numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot

could turn gangrenous and result in amputation.

Dialogue/Punctuation Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!An ecstasy offumbling

The use of dialogue creates a sense of immediacy and transports

the reader into the scene. The use of exclamation points creates

speed when the lines are red out loud, which mimics the frantic

feeling the soldiers would have felt. The Gas! is a reference to

mustard gas. This gas caused both internal and external blisters on

the victim within hours of being exposed to it. Such damage to the

lungs and other internal organs were very painful and fatal. Many

who did survive were blinded by the gas.

Simile But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime

The comparison to man in fire describes the terror and horror the

gas inflicts upon the soldiers.

Assonance He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. The repetition of the ing recreates the feeling of slow

strangulation and inability to breathe that the soldier would have

felt. Invokes sympathy from the audience.

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7/31/2019 Poetry Example

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Structure My friend, you would not tell with such high

zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Dulce et Decorum est is Latin and it means,It is sweet and

proper to die for one's country. The addition of the final lines after

the description of the dying the soldier indicates that the message

of the poem is that this idea of dying for ones country is cruel lierepeated to young men to convince them to enlist at war. Perhaps

the children ardent for some desperate glory is actually areference to the young soldiers who were more or less children

who were convinced to enlist in the war because they were told it

would be glorious to fight for ones country.