Use of Imagery and Metaphor in Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen Through vivid images and compelling metaphors "Dulce et Decorum Est" gives the reader the exact feeling that the author wanted. The poem is an anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen and makes great use of these devices. This poem is very effective due to its excellent manipulation of the mechanical and emotional parts of the poem. Owen's use of exact diction and vivid figurative language emphasizes his point, demonstrating that war is terrible and devastating. Furthermore, the use of extremely graphic images adds even more to his argument. Through the effective use of all three of these tools, this poem conveys strong meaning and a persuasive argument. To better understand the poem, it is important to understand some of Wilfred Owen's story. Did Owen join the Artists? Rifles on 21 October 1915. He was eventually drafted into France in 1917. The birth of Owen's imaginative style used in his most famous poems occurred during his stay at Craiglockhart War Hospital, where he met Siegfried Sassoon (another great war poet) . Owen's new style (the one used in "Dulce et Decorum Est") graced many poems between August 1917 and September 1918 (Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia). On November 4, 1918, Wilfred Owed was killed by enemy machine gun fire while trying to take his company across the Sambre Canal (lane 167). The poem tells of a journey that Owen and his platoon of exhausted soldiers took as they were plodding back to base after a harrowing time on the battlefront when a gas shell was fired at them. As a result of this, a soldier from his platoon was fatally gassed. Owen organized the poem into three sections...... center of the paper ...... rase "Dulce et decorum est pro partria mori" means, "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." Owen calls it a lie using good diction, vivid comparisons, and graphic imagery to make the reader feel disgusted by what war is capable of. This poem is extremely effective as an anti-war poem, making war seem absolutely horrible and revolting, just as the author intended. Works Cited Lane, Arthur E. An Adequate Response. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1972. Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et decorum Est". Literature and the writing process. Fifth ed. Ed. Elizabeth McMahhan, et al. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. 582-583."Owen, Wilfred," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000.htt://encarta.msn.com"Wilfred Owen." Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia 2000.http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jowen.htm