Assignment 14: Examination of Exam questions

Dulce et Decorum est.

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs 

And towards our distant rest began to trudge. 

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots 

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; 

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots  

Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, 

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; 

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, 

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . . 

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, 

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. 

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, 

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. 

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace 

Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; 

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud 

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, 

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest  

To children ardent for some desperate glory, 

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est 

Pro patria mori.

-Wilfred Owen

1. In Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum est." uses poetic language to get his message across. Examine his message, and specify what language he uses to make it clear.

2. Using one of the short stories we've read, describe the theme and support it using evidence.

Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum est." is about how distasteful war is, despite the propaganda being spread at home. To best convey just how horrid war really is, he makes liberal use of simile, comparing the soldiers to all manner of vile things. He emphasizes the terrifying reality of war to counter the glorious picture painted by those who haven't actually experienced it.

"Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel hawthorne is a story about a man's loss of faith in his community, caused by his own suspicious activity. The titular character has an experience where his own shady dealings have influenced his view on his neighbors and even his wife, conveniently named Faith.