Dulce Et Decorum Est (Poem)

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

In the poem Dulce ET Decorum Est, tone, diction and imagery play an important role. The author uses image to show and exemplify the extremity of the situation and the war. The author uses tone to convey emotion, and he uses diction so that the words and sentences he chooses to add the impact to the poem.

In the poem the tone is displayed by the words morbid and desperate. The words desperate in the poem is implying that the men in the poem are under a lot of chaos, and that they are unorganized and are just in pandemonium, and running away for the gas. The word morbid implies death. The men are just being attacked by this gas and are dieing. Also he used the word jolt. The word jolt implies a sudden shock, or something that came out of nowhere. This shows that these men have been ambushed in a way, and just being killed quickly.

The poem also displays diction. The diction is the word choice used in the poem, for example sludge, guttering, choking, drowning, thick green light. These are all examples of diction. The word Sludge resembles how bad it was walking trough and living in trenches of sludge and mud, and human excrements. The word sludge is used because it is used for emphasis, the word mud could have been used but sludge is used. The words guttering choking and drowning are used also for emphasis. The words guttering, choking, and drowning just gives the reader a very visual look at the life of trench warfare. A last example of diction is "thick green light" the words thick green light shows a visual of the mustard gas, and how the gas is not just a smoke wave that it is thick and bold. The device of diction helps use as the readers understand and get a good feeling of the overall meaning of the poem.

The poem also shows many images, like "gas shells dropping softy" this image displays how the men being attacked and