Listen to the poem: Make a list of words that stand out to you

1. Starter: What can you remember about the Wilfred Owen poem “Dulce et Decorum est?” (3 sentences min)Share and feedback Listen to the poem: Make a list of words that stand out to you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mc_2j56plA

2. Wilfred Owen • Born 1893 • Died November 4th, 1918 • Killed in action, just a week before war ended. • News of his death reached his mother just as the town’s church bells were ringing for victory at the end of the war. • One of the war’s most famous poets for speaking out against the death and destruction it brought.

3. The title- Dulce et Decorum Est • Taken from a Latin saying meaning ‘It is sweet and right (to die for your country)’- in other words, it is a wonderful and great honour to die for your country. • This was widely quoted at the beginning of the war and poems like Pope’s ‘Who’s for the Game’ reflected this idea.

4. Is this sweet? Is this right? Is this fitting? • With mustard gas the effects did not become apparent for up to twelve hours. But then it began to rot the body, within and without. •The skin blistered, the eyes became extremely painful and nausea and vomiting began. •Worse, the gas attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucus membrane. •The pain was almost beyond endurance and most victims had to be strapped to their beds. •Death took up to four or five weeks.

5. Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we curse through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

6. Activity 1(5 mins) • Owen uses lots of powerful imageryand similesto describe the soldiers. • Find 3examples of this and explain the effectthese might have on the reader. Effect - Sample sentence: Feelings of pityare evoked in the reader as they imagine the suffering, weariness and despair as the soldiers ‘cursed through sludge,’ and ‘limped back to their base.’

8. Activity 2: Effect/impact • What is the impact of ‘Gas! Gas! Quick boys!’ • Owen describes the soldiers putting their gas masks on as ‘an ecstasy of fumbling’. Why does he use the word ‘ecstasy’?

9. Sample answer – www.ebi The most interesting example of dramatic use of language occurs in the description of the gas attack. [POINT] The panic of the men is captured in the order ‘Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!’ The use of the word ‘ecstasy’ to describe the ‘fumbling’ to fit the masks in time is both interesting and terrifying. We don’t usually associate ecstasy with such horror. The language engages the senses in a powerful way. We see the unfortunate man’s ‘hanging face, like a devil sick of sin.’ We hear his howls of pain and the ‘gargling’ of blood in his throat as he chokes to death. We almost feel the jolting of the wagon and the violence of his body being ‘flung’ into it. The use of language throughout this poem is not only interesting, it is memorable and disturbing. It forces us to confront the reality that war is far from being sweet and honourable.

10. But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

11. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,

12. Why does Owen describe his dreams as ‘smothering’? What is the impact of using the word ‘flung’? This is a description of a man after a gas attack, as his lungs are slowly eaten away. Which ugly words and comparisons describe this? Who do you think Owen is addressing here when he says ‘If you could hear’? Activity 4: Discussion – bullet point feedback

13. My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.

14. Activity 5 • What is the tone of these final lines? • How do you feel about this poem and what do you think its final message is?

15. Final revision points • The following slides will contain points that can be used to aid the development of an essay • You will need to find quotations to support • Remember: the most important thing is to develop your opinion of the poem • TWIST it • Theme, words, imagery, structure, tone

16. Powerful thoughts and feelings • Opens with a feeling of weariness and despair • Thought: war breaks people • No soldier ever escapes memory • Feelings of fear, grief and anger • Wants to present the truth about war

17. Interesting language • Description of soldiers, similes, opposite of heroic • Superb images are employed to graphically describe the men • The dreams, powerful description • Emphasises their degradation in war • Graphic imagery brings out the horror and the lie • Verbs conjure up the atmosphere of despair and fatigue

18. The Pace • At first - slow and tedious • Sentences are varied in length • Broken up by punctuation marks • This gives the impression of the uneven steps taken by men • Sudden change of pace as gas attack occurs • Reflected in the skilful and interesting choice of verbs • This use of contrast powerfully creates the panic and horror and leaves a permanent impression on the mind of the reader

19. Message • The powerful ending of the poem presents the major theme or thought to the readers • The poet is disgusted by the old lie • The poem ends on this note of anger for the masking of truth Did the poem, powerful in both thoughts and feelings, have a strong impact on you?