Dulce et Decorum Est.:Simile, Metaphor, and Oonomatopoeia

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Explain how Owen uses poetic devices including simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia to support the theme of “Dulce et Decorum Est.”
In “Dulce et Decorum Est” Wilfred Owen focuses on war violence and the futility of soldiers fighting while being considered patriots. The soldiers suffer a gas attack, and the general perception is that a soldier ought to die for their country. Owen rebukes war by describing the horrors and suffering that the soldiers go through. Focus on nationalistic triumph during and after war often downplays the sacrifice of many lives even when war is avoidable. The poet uses poetic devices such as simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia to show the grim reality of war, death and brutality for soldiers who suffered mustard-gas attacks in the battle fields.
The first line “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” is a simile that likens the marching solders to beggars. This creates the image that the soldiers are probably worn out and the second line is another simile that emphasizes the condition of the solders. “Coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge” (line 2). This highlights the physical conditions and mental toll that the cursed like old women or hags, which was unexpected for the youthful soldiers. Owen challenges the notion that it is sweet and proper for a soldier to die for their country during war country, even as people ignore the cost of physical and mental suffering in the killing fields.
Owen further highlighted the horror and brutality of the war when he implied that there were gas attacks and the soldiers limped because of the fire, lime and burning air. The soldiers are half blinded and almost feels like drowning for the soldiers “And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime” (line 12). In the line, the poet notes that the soldieries struggled clumsily after the gas attack and especially for the soldiers in the foreground. The fear of war overwhelms the soldiers who suffer the horrific effects of a gas attack and cannot protect themselves. For the soldiers in the battlefield, dying for one’s country is not always an honor as is the case for those who fail to wear gas masks.
Owen uses similes more often than other poetic devices to describe the soldiers and their experience and he likens the soldier’s ...