Dulce et Decorum Est

“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a poem written by a British soldier, Wilfred Owen, who served in World War I. This war is also known as the Great War, since so many were involved and so many were killed. Millions of young men across Europe lost their lives; it was not uncommon after the war, in the 1920s, to walk along streets throughout France, Germany, and England and see almost no men between the ages of 18 and 35. That many young men were killed during the fighting.

World War I (WWI) is particularly well-remembered for the large amount of fighting that occurred in trenches. The trenches were intricate systems of dug pathways usually about five or six feet deep. Soldiers on both sides would hide in the trenches, emerging to mount attacks upon the enemies. Machine guns would cut down soldiers with a terrifying precision, making casualties a certainty. Poison gas was another horrifying aspect of this war, and although technically illegal, it was used regardless. “Dulce et Decorum Est” describes the effects of the unimaginably painful and almost invariably lethal results of inhaling this gas, which was launched in eruptive canisters.