WILFRED OWEN - DULCE ET DECORUM EST

Wilfred Owen immortalized mustard gas in his indictment against warfare, "Dulce et Decorum Est." Written in 1917 while at Craiglockart, and published posthumously in 1920, the poem details what is, perhaps, the most memorable written account of a mustard gas attack.

The Latin title is from Horace (1^st century BC)  and it means “it is sweet and proper”. This is followed by the phrase pro patria mori, or “to die for one’s country” in English.

The poem is known for its horrific imagery and condemnation of war. It combines two sonnets and is formed by 28 lines. Read here.

https://myblog-inplainenglish.blogspot.com/2017/05/revising-wilfred-owen.html

SOLDIER'S DREAM

I dreamed kind Jesus fouled the big-gun gears;
And caused a permanent stoppage in all bolts;
And buckled with a smile Mausers and Colts;
And rusted every bayonet with His tears.

And there were no more bombs, of ours or Theirs,
Not even an old flint-lock, not even a pikel.
But God was vexed, and gave all power to Michael;
And when I woke he'd seen to our repairs.

Wilfred Owen [1893-1918] was a remarkable young man. When he died he was just 25 years old, but his poetry has proved enduring and influential and is among the best known in the English language. He left behind a unique testament to the horrific impact of the First World War on an entire generation of young people.

Here you can find a text analysis of this poem.

SIEGFRIED SASSOON

Born on 8 September 1886, Siegfried Sassoon was an English writer and poet, WW I veteran. Read here and here.

He is best remembered for his angry and compassionate poems of the First World War, which brought him public and critical praise. Refusing the sentimentality and patriotism of other war poets, he wrote of the horror and cruelty of trench warfare and scornfully ridiculed generals, politicians, and churchmen for their incompetence and blind support of the war. 

REVISING WILFRED OWEN

Here you can find my previous post on Wilfred Owen, an English poet whose work was characterised by his anger at the cruelty and waste of war, which he experienced during service on the Western Front.

MODERNISM AND MODERNIST POETRY - 5^C LINGUISTICO

Modernism 

Modernist poetry 

The War Poets 

T.S Eliot

W.H.Auden

WILFRED OWEN

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born 18 March 1893 in Oswestry, Shropshire. After school he became a teaching assistant and in 1913 went to France for two years to work as a language tutor. He began writing poetry as a teenager.

In 1915 he returned to England to enlist in the army and was commissioned into the Manchester Regiment. After spending the remainder of the year training in England, he left for the western front early in January 1917. After experiencing heavy fighting, he was diagnosed with shellshock. He was evacuated to England and arrived at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh in June. There he met the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who already had a reputation as a poet and shared Owen's views. Sassoon agreed to look over Owen's poems and gave him encouragement. 

Reading Sassoon's poems and discussing his work with Sassoon revolutionised Owen's style and his conception of poetry. He returned to France in August 1918 and in October was awarded the Military Cross for bravery. On 4 November 1918 he was killed while attempting to lead his men across the Sambre canal at Ors, France. The news of his death reached his parents on 11 November, Armistice Day.

Edited by Sassoon and published in 1920, Owen's single volume of poems contain some of the most heartbreaking English poetry of World War I, including "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Anthemfor Doomed Youth".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/owen_wilfred.shtml

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Analysis-of-Poem-Dulce-et-Decorum-Est-by-Wilfred-Owen

Here you can find a detailed analysis of the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est".

THE WAR POETS

Here you can find a PDF presentation about the War Poets.

Find out more about poetry in World War One: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z38rq6f