Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen (1 Viewer)

jazzeum

Four Star General
Joined
Apr 23, 2005
Messages
38,444
Dulce Et Decorum Est


Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.


GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.


In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.


If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

http://youtu.be/odP3-WkC5Gg
 
I love this poem. I always found a reason (or invented one!) to use it in any poetry unit that I taught.
 
To say it is a great poem is an understatement and all the more tragic that Wilfred Owen died in 1918.
 
To say it is a great poem is an understatement and all the more tragic that Wilfred Owen died in 1918.
Owen was KIA at the Sambre Canal on November 4, 1918, one week before the armistice. Word of his death reached his parents on November 11, itself. -- Al
 
Perhaps the best of all WW1 poems, just brilliant.So sad he almost made it through but killed so near the end as Al says, there are no such things as good wars but WW1 was truly terrible.

Rob
 
Hi Guys,

While I also agree that this poem is stunningly vivid I also found Siegfried Sassoon's poems amazing as well. Here is the poem Attack from 1918.


At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun
In the wild purple of the glow'ring sun,
Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud
The menacing scarred slope; and, one by one,
Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.
The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed
With bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,
Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.
Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
They leave their trenches, going over the top,
While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

Dave
 
Excellent Dave, here's another of his, short and sweet but effective;



The General

‘Good-morning; good-morning!’ the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
‘He’s a cheery old card,’ grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

. . . .
But he did for them both by his plan of attack.
Siegfried Sassoon
 
Hi Rob,

That also a great one. Some amazing poems and stories and art work came out of this terrible war. I am really interested in the BBC show they are going to do on it. I wonder what sort of spin they will try and put on it or if they will try and report it as neutrally as possible. WHat do you think?

Dave
 
Hi Rob,

That also a great one. Some amazing poems and stories and art work came out of this terrible war. I am really interested in the BBC show they are going to do on it. I wonder what sort of spin they will try and put on it or if they will try and report it as neutrally as possible. WHat do you think?

Dave

Dave,well I read a report some months back when the BBC's massive season was announced that they would not be pandering to political correctness, hinting that they won't be holding back in blaming Germany for the War, but we shall see.

Rob
 
In my recent reading, it seems to be generally accepted that Germany was at fault but I wouldn't say that other countries were blameless. I think the system in which those countries operated, not to mention their history, had a part.

Brad
 
Hey all, great subject covered here. If the war poets and the literary legacy of the war are of interest, I would highly encourage a reading of Paul Fussell's 'The Great War and Modern Memory'. I have not read a better book on the subject. -- Al
 
Thanks for the recommendation Al. I have heard of the book but have never picked it up. From my readings of the American Civil War and memory, this is considered an important groundbreaking work.

Brad
 
In my recent reading, it seems to be generally accepted that Germany was at fault but I wouldn't say that other countries were blameless. I think the system in which those countries operated, not to mention their history, had a part.

Brad

Absolutely Brad, definite case of 'My empire is bigger than your empire' syndrome all round.

Rob
 
I suppose one of the odd circumstances or maybe it is normal that Wilhelm couldn't get along with his uncle, King Edward; due more to the former than the latter.
 
I suppose one of the odd circumstances or maybe it is normal that Wilhelm couldn't get along with his uncle, King Edward; due more to the former than the latter.

Indeed Brad. Next up from the Beeb next week is ' Royal Cousins at War' a two parter looking at the relationship between King George V, Tsar Nicolas II and Kaiser Willhelm II . It looks very interesting as it explores the ins and outs of these relationships and the part they played in the run up to the War.

Ness is loving this season , I am so glued to the tv she can sit there and say 'Am just going to put this new car on the credit card Rob' ........ok love thats fine{sm4}

Rob
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top