The Soldier's Sacrifice in Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”

Wilfred Owen uses strong imagery to not just tell but show the suffering of soldiers in World War I arena fighting for both their country and their survival.  Owen’s images represent and blend all the senses of sight, smell, and sounds, and tease out the visceralness of the soldiers’ dying against the gas explosions.  This is true, especially in lines, “but limped on, blood-shod / All went lame, all blind” (6-7), which show how difficult it was for the soldiers at the time to walk and even to move.  The images of limping, blood, and blindness express the weakness of people to struggle for their lives.  Moreover, in the line, “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling” (9), expresses the soldiers’ terror in fighting to grope for the gas masks.  Everywhere is gas and gas, and the soldiers cannot see or breathe.  They keep trying to reach the edge of handle of the gas mask, but it is really awkward since much gas in there at the time. 

Eventually, the poet says that if we, as readers, really understood the soldiers’ suffering to survive the way he does, no one would say this, “dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori” (28), Mayer explains the meaning,  “it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country” (649).  The soldiers rest in peace after sacrificing their lives for their country and people will not see their struggling to fight against not only the enemies but also for their lives.  In short, these images are so effective because they make me see, feel, hear, and smell the bodies of the soldiers in the field. The images really evoke my visceral senses.  They make the surrounding alive and take me to the real field to see the suffering of the soldiers dying.