Wilfred Owen's poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” makes the reader acutely aware of the impact of war. The speaker's war experiences are vivid and terrible. Through the poem's themes, its linguistic choices, and by contrasting the pleasant title preceding the poem's disturbing content, it draws attention to his views on the war while he himself is in it. Owen uses symbolism in form and language to illustrate the horrors experienced by the speaker and his comrades; and the way he describes the soldiers, as if they are distorted and damaged, is comparable to the way the speaker's mind is violated and haunted by war. Chaos and drudgery are common themes throughout the poem, displayed in its form; it's almost iambic pentameter, but not all lines fit the required pattern. This is significant because the imperfect phrasing of the poem is that Owen is making a statement about formality, the poem breaks the typical form to show that not everything works satisfactorily. The poem's stanzas also start short, but become longer, such as the speaker's torment and the removal of his comrades from the open fire. The rhyme scheme of ABABCCDD is a constant throughout the poem, but it serves to reinforce the nature of the cadence as the soldiers advance. The war seems to drag on longer and longer for the speaker and represents the prolonged suffering and agony of the soldier's death which is described as the speaker dwells on this subject and is emotionally torn and distorts his impressions about what he experiences. The words Owen chooses to use in the poem describing the soldiers are particular choices. The speaker describes them as "[b]ent double, like beggars in sacks" (line 1), very different from the typical idea of ​​a soldier. Right from the start...middle of the article......nice title. Owen's poem uses symbolism to bring home the harsh reality of war that the speaker experienced and forces the reader to think about the reality presented in a romanticized manner. poetry that treats war gently. It uses language that conveys the experiences of the speaker, as well as what he, his companions, and the dying person feel. People die, suffer, and have nightmares during war; Owen demonstrates this forcefully in “Dulce et Decorum Est”. It examines the horrific quality of World War I and transports the reader into the intense imagery of the speaker's emotion and experience. Works Cited Griffith, George V. “Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est.” Explanator 41.3 (1983): 37. Print. Owen, Wilfred. “Dulce et Decorum Est”. Literature: a pocket anthology.Ed. RS Gwynn. 4th ed. New York: Penguin-Longman, 2009. 615-616. Print.