“Dulce et Decorum Est” & “Anthem for Doomed Youth”

In the first line of the poem there is the use of imagery where the author talks about ‘Bent Double, Like Beggars under sacks’ (Arp and Greg 637). The imagery in this part is enhanced by the use of similes that compare men with matching beggars. In addition, during the initial stages of the poem, men’s image is doubled to depict that as men where in the war, they possessed two characters for which one related to the possibility of human character and the other was the brutal character of a soldier of the war. The war involved the participation of many soldiers of all the world countries and thus it has a wide influence for which many youths are affected and wiped away by the war. The term ‘Blood-shod’ is a symbolism of men’s feet being covered with a pool of blood as a consequence of the war. Sequentially, the ‘blood-shod’ brings an imagery that the act of shooting by the soldiers was accompanied by a lot of blood shading thus the whole action was bloody. Therefore, “war has been manifested to be accompanied with blood, death and all sorts of acts against humanity” (Arp and Greg 637).

The war message has also been displayed through the involvement of hopeless actions of the soldiers not able to withstand the horrible actions. The metaphor of people walking while sleeping shows the horrible situation in which all the people termed it to be out of control. Thus the soldier’s were not able to control further occurrence of the deaths. War has been associated with many deaths and cruelty actions, which portray defiance of human rights and freedoms. The hopeless sight of the author was depicted by his ability to witness war but he could not have the ability to save or control the further occurrence of the horrible outcomes of the war. The act of tiredness of men in the war has been demonstrated through the use of imagery where the writer talks of men who are staggering. This shows that the war made many men behave in an exhausting nature for it demanded the physical labor of the soldiers. In addition, war has been associated with the act of drinking. In the Anthem for Doomed, the title creates imagery in our minds about the use of the national song to encourage soldiers who have been defeated in the war (Arp and Greg 873).

The theme of death has been emphasized through the application of images that portray funeral, mourning and death. Through this story, we are also able to sense the presence of evil actions that are brought forth by the occurrence of the First World War. Wilfred Owen uses imagery to explicitly talk about the prevailing theme of death in his poetry. The use of similes is also used to enhance the imagery where the soldiers’ deaths are likened with cattle death. Hence, the writer gives a clear image of how soldiers die mercilessly, without consideration of the humanity character.

The imagery has effectively explored out the many themes associated with the war in the poems. This is because imagery has been able to create an image on the people’s mind regarding the consequences of the war. In the war, there is desertion that has been depicted by the use of mourning occasions where people are expressing their dissatisfaction that dwelled in the heart of the people when they lost their loved ones (Arp and Greg 873). Therefore, the use of similes and metaphors in the story shows the ability of the writer to compare and contrast the instances where coherence is needed. This also brings the idea of plot development where ideas are developed and then presented in an orderly manner. Therefore, the writer has been able to create an image that has both the emotional and mental effects. This happens where he was able to make the reader understand the themes in the poem and hence affecting the reader emotionally by capturing his attention.

Works Cited

Arp, Thomas and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, & Sense. Boston: Wadsworth, 2009. Print.