The Dehumanizing Effects of War ( A Research on a Poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen)

 

In 'Dulce et Decorum Est' Wilfred Owen abandons the traditional view that maintains the war is waged by great men. He believes that soldiers are not heroes. Soldiers are dehumanized to the level of beggars. They are boys; they have no experience of war. Soldiers are helpless, they suffer a lot. Owen tries to convince his readers that it is neither sweet nor honorable to die for your country by using the rhetorical triangle approach, which is based on three elements: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.

One of the three elements of rhetorical triangle that Owen uses in his poem is ethos. Owen is considered as a reliable writer because ethos refers to the authenticity of the author. In the poem, ethos comes from the fact that he was a soldier; he participated in the First World War. That's why; he was able to provide a reveal description of the conditions of the men involved in the war. In his poem, Owen asserts that soldiers are extremely tired as they were old beggars carrying sacks on their backs. Owen provides his readers with such descriptions because of his experience. He also mentions how soldiers are not prepared for the battle, soldiers suffer and die. He describes how these soldiers are bleeding because they've lost their boats.

The way Owen describes the soldier's suffer during the war leads the audience to sympathize with him. War in epic poetry is considered romantic. But, in this poem war is something horrible that wants to kill you. This poem has an anti-romantic view of war. Soldiers are not heroes, they are merely beggars. Death is upon those soldiers, it surrounds  them. The poisonous gas, bleeding, gunshot, and bombs, those are the main elements of death that controls the battle field.

As the poem ends, Owen comes to the conclusion that the old saying 'Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori' is a lie. In reality, war is horrible and terrifying and it's something bad to start w war and to enter in it, and the people should stop telling themselves and their children that it's great and honorable to die for your country.