Dulce Et Docorum Est by Wilfred Owen The World War I poet, Wilfred Owen, wrote two poems titled "Dulce Et Docorum Est" and "Disabled". The main themes running through both poems are that of the pain and futility of war, and of crime against young soldiers. The beginning and end of these two poems connect these ideas through the use of contrasting imagery and language characteristics. The poem “disabled” begins by describing a physically and mentally broken soldier, clearly the result of war, who welcomes darkness to end his misery. taking it away. The image of a “wheelchair” implies that he is disabled and probably dependent on others. Legless, sewn short at the elbow” further implies the person's disability. Wilfred Owen describes him as a "horrible gray suit" that paints a picture of a colorless, lifeless man, an idea that is driven home through the use of the word horrible, which the reader can easily confuse with "ghostly" . “The boys' voices sounded sad” reminds him of the old days when he was like them, playing and having fun. The language used in describing these boys has very positive connotations, 'play and pleasure', in contrast to the boring words used to describe the wounded soldier. Darkness fell too quickly for these boys who were forced to finish their games and retreat inside, unlike the soldier who welcomed nightfall. The two contrasting sentences are used as a juxtaposition and constitute the main theme of the poem, namely the resentment and anger that Owen had towards those in his homeland who had organized the war, and the sympathy he had towards the young people who had lost their lives . taken away from them. Throughout the poem, Wilfred Owen illustrates how an injury on the football field would be met with glory and pride, knowing you put your body on the line for your team, but an injury on the battlefield was neither glorious nor fulfilling . he once liked to have a blood stain along his leg, carried on his back after matches...Some applauded him at home, but not as the crowd cheers for the goal, only a solemn man who brought him fruit thanked him' . The poem then returns to the immobilized soldier, who through the destruction of war had become an object, unable to care for himself, once a very capable athlete, now reduced to a wheelchair. This connects to the first idea introduced in the poem of children from whom the war has stolen their childhood and their potential life.