Use of Images and Metaphors in Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred OwenThrough vivid images and compelling metaphors, "Dulce et Decorum Est "gives the reader the exact feeling the author intended. The poem is an anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen and makes great use of these devices. This poem is very effective because of its excellent handling of the mechanical and emotional parts of the poetry. Owen's use of exact diction and vivid figurative language emphasizes his point, showing that war is terrible and devastating. Additionally, the use of extremely graphic images further adds to his argument. Through the effective use of these three tools, this poem conveys a strong meaning and a compelling argument. To better understand the poem, it is important to understand some of Wilfred Owen's story. Owen joined the Artists? Rifles on October 21, 1915. He was finally enlisted in France in 1917. The birth of Owen's style of imagery used in his most famous poems took place during his stay at Craiglockhart War Hospital, where he met Siegfried Sassoon (another great war poet). Owen's new style (that used in "Dulce et Decorum Est") embellished many poems between August 1917 and September 1918 (Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia). On November 4, 1918, Wilfred Owed was killed by enemy machine gun fire while trying to get his company across the Sambre canal (route 167). The poem recounts a journey that Owen and his platoon of exhausted soldiers took as they trudged back to base after a harrowing time on the battle front when a gas shell was fired at them. As a result, a soldier in his platoon was fatally gassed. Owen arranged the poem into three sections...... middle of paper ...... rase "Dulce et decorum est pro partria mori" means, "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." Owen calls this a lie using good diction, vivid comparisons, and graphic imagery to make the reader feel disgusted at what war is capable of. This poem is extremely effective as an anti-war poem, making war absolutely horrible and revolting, just as the author intended. Works CitedLane, Arthur E. An Adequate Response. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1972. Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est”. Literature and the writing process. Fifth ed. Ed. Elizabeth McMahhan et al. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. 582-583. “Owen, Wilfred,” Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000.htt://encarta.msn.com “Wilfred Owen.” Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia 2000.http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jowen.htm