Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est Portrayal Of War Analysis

Owen’s â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†: Portrayal of War General William Tecumseh Sherman stated that, â€Å"War is cruelty† (Sherman). Yet past and present media propaganda use recruitment advertisements to portray military service as a noble and glorious profession. A majority of military propaganda that I have seen, heard, or read, is depicted in a positive manner. War propaganda focuses on the concrete aspects of benefits, skill development, and travel. Pictures of soldiers smiling and appearing content with their military profession are prominently displayed in schools, shopping centers, and recruitment offices nationwide. Moreover, military recruitment propaganda shows soldiers appearing invincible and ready to fight. These clean-cut poster†¦show more content†¦In fact, many tasks assigned to soldiers while being deployed are not always adventurous as reflected in some recruitment advertisements. Many of these tasks are mundane, such as sitting in Forward Operating Bases for hours monitoring enemy activity. Addi tionally, if soldiers are sent out on patrols, they may or may not encounter any enemy activity. If enemy contact occurs, the results could be an ominous experience because of the possibility of losing a battle buddy or worse, being wounded or killed. These types of combat experiences can cause soldiers to grieve their own injuries or the loss of friends, which puts them at risk for developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an emotional invisible scar that remains internally deep and difficult to heal and is unlikely an effective selling point to recruit healthy vibrant youthful people for military service. Owen starts his poem with, â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, / Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge, /† (Owen 1-2). Owen’s word choices of â€Å"†¦beggars†¦hags†¦.† to describe soldiers is odd (1-2). According to Merriam-Webster.com, the word â€Å"hag† (2) means â€Å"an ugly , slatternly, or evil-looking old woman† (Note: All definitions quoted in this paper come from this same source). This is startling because many of the British soldiers during WWI were young. In fact, thousands of British youth lied about their age toShow MoreRelatedCompare Contrast the Portrayal of War in Dulce Et Decorum Est Charge of the Light Brigade.2305 Words   |  10 PagesTennysons Charge of The Light Brigade and Owens Dulce Et Decorum Est both explore warfare. However they each have significant differences. Charge Of The Light Brigade was written in the 18th Century and is about the Crimean War. It explains, in a very majestic manner, that fighting in a war is something every soldier should be extremely proud of. Sacrifices have to be made and bravery is an absolute necessity. Tennyson ignores the darkness and slaughter of war by emphasising the courage and loyaltyRead More Dulce et Decorum Est Essay1748 Words   |  7 PagesWilfred Owen’s â€Å"Dulce e t Decorum Est† and E. E Cummings’, â€Å"next to of course god america i† are poems that critique patriotic propaganda. Both poems use words and images to effectively depict the influence that patriotic propaganda has on war. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† uses descriptive words to create realistic images of the horrors soldiers are faced with during combat, whereas â€Å"next to of course god america i† uses sarcasm to inform readers that the abuse of propaganda can be used to manipulate othersRead More Love Presented in Poems by Wilfred Owen Essay2489 Words   |  10 Pagesand explored in Sebastian Faulks Birdsong and in many of Wilfred Owens War poems. Each aspect of love, as seen through the eyes of this First World War soldier and Faulks characters, is as interesting as it is diverse, allowing an impervious insight into the psychological effects that the War had on these men. Such a formidable event as war has a devastating effect on all parties involved. In total, the First World War saw the deaths of 420,000 English, 450,000 German, and 205,000 French