Lesson #5 - World War I "Mini-Lessons"

I think "Dulce et Decorum Est"is the better of the two poems because it show the sheer terror of the war. It paints a depressing picture with all of the detail but it is the one that gives me a clearer image of what the war could have been like.

I liked Dulce et Decorum By Wilfred Owen because it truly showed what troops had to deal with in the war. Having to constantly be alert, and watching your friends die from poison gas. The poem shows how much trauma all the troops had to go through, and what they will live with for the rest of their lives. The poem was very powerful because it was so descriptive that it felt like you were on the battlefield watching these things go on.

Amanda Magistad

I thought that the poem Dulce et Decorum Est represented what soldiers in WWI went through very well. It does a great job of showing the war and everyday life from their point of view. It also like how it describes the gas bombs and the gas masks that the wore.

I thought that the Dulce et Decorum Est was a very good poem. It was a lot more powerful, just because it was easy to understand. I could very easily imagine the war, with the gases and the feeling of dying. The pain throughout the poem was the most moving part of it. I also thought that the ending fit very well with poem, it was almost ironical, how although they go through all this pain it was good to die for one's country. "How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country."

I think that the "Dulce et Decorum" is more emotional because the pain in the poem is very relevant. It also has a lot of horrific imagery and you can feel the hardship they are going through. I could easily imagine the war because they made it seem as though you were in it as well, with the examples they gave us.

I found that Dulce et Decorum est to be more interesting compared to In Flanders Field because it gave a first hand prospective of a gas attack would be like in a trench. It gave a description of someone exposed to the gas and the effects it had on him.

I believe that “Dulce et Decorum Est” is a more realistic poem because it describes the grim reality of a soldier’s life, while the poem “In Flander Fields”, is a more meaningful poem that talks about the dead combatants. Some people might conclude that the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” is too graphic but I believe people shouldn’t disregard the reality of the war. The poem describes how the soldiers were sleep deprived, ill-equipped, bloody and constantly under the threat of gas attacks. Lastly, I believe that the phrase “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country” is true only if the soldier is valiant.

While the poem "In Flanders Fields" expresses the deep sadness of death in the war, I feel that the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" best represents WWI because it depicts the brutality, horror, and persistence of the war. "In Flanders Fields," the powerful image of fallen soldiers now being part of the landscape is used in combination with the image of recently being alive and loved to highlight the cost of life in battle. The poem also asks for the remaining soldiers to fight on for their fallen comrades, evoking some nobility in war. The poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" is a better representation of the WWI experience. The tremendous hardship of mobility, trench warfare, scarcity of food, persistence of bombs, confusion, and disease lead to the climax of this poem, which is the lie that war is some wonderful and noble mission. This was one of the lessons of WWI. Therefore, "Dulce et Decorum Est" is a better and more realistic depiction of WWI.

Comment from Ben W
I liked Dulce et Decorum Est Because it gave such realistic images of what a soldier would experience. I also liked it for its simplistic nature but also for the emotion trapped in each word.

I found the Dulce et Decorum Est poem more powerful than In Flanders Fields. It had more imagery, and it was easy to imagine myself there, in the middle of the war. The images this poem gives of what the dying people are, are rather disgusting, but to give a feeling like that, they must be well written and strong. I feel like this poem was able to show the true horrors of World War I, and the pain that those who were a part of it went through, both themselves and what they saw of others. I also felt that this poem had better verbs than the other: guttering, choking, drowning, writhing, flung, gargling vs. singing, flying, lived, felt, saw. The message of the poem, about "It is glorious and honourable to day for one's country" is a powerful one. It is likely that Horace hadn't died for his country when he said that, mostly because he was more of a poet than a soldier, and also due to the fact that he said it, and dead people generally do not speak after they have died.

I found Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" to be a more interesting and moving poem for a variety of reasons. There was much more imagery in this poem, and in many cases, horrific and graphic scenes were displayed. While McCrae's poem spoke of event of death, Owen described in detail the nature and chaos of it. He also touched upon the concepts of gas, trench warfare, and the mass casualty pile up, which is foreign to many people who have yet to experience war, the war that it was fought during this time.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae poetically portrays feelings revolving around World War I. The rhythm and rhyme scheme makes the poem elegant and flow beautifully. Taking the perspective of dead soldiers allows emotion to seep into the poem and makes the composition more interesting. Finally, starting and ending the poem with the image of poppies ties the poem together skillfully. McCrae does a good job of conveying a simple but powerful message to the reader.

After reading both poems I decided that "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen, was a much more fitting poem. It really painted a picture of the horrors of a World War I gas attack, and the war in general. It is also very emotional because the writer is speaking from experience and the events in the poem actually happened. I did not feel the same way about "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, because it seemed more reminiscent and metaphoric. Even though the writer may have experienced the loss of friends in the war he portrays them as content spirits rather than suffering people. When someone describes a scene, like the one in "Dulce et Decorum Est", they are usually very emotional, powerful and moving; and that is exactly what Wilfred Owen did.

I liked Dulce et Decorum Est the most. First of all, I thought it was a lot easier to understand. It really drew a good image of how brutal war was. Second of all, I found it interesting how about halfway through the poem, it suddenly says "Gas! Gas!" I thought this was cool because I imagine in a real war, the poison gas would attack without warning as well! Finally, the last stanza is very effective, showing the horrors of death and fighting in the war.

-Zach

Wow, very poignant poetry! I must say, as a writer myself, and often a sappy one at that, I much preferred reading "In Flanders Fields" to the short, not-so-sweet, but just as moving "Dulce et Decorum Est."
So, "In Flanders Fields"...again, wow. I cannot even imagine the horrors of being on the direct receiving end of any war, of course, but that one in particular, as the first of its kind. I think this poem really spoke to a side of me that wishes in some kind of odd way I could have been present at an event like that, simply to experience the feelings people from another era--maybe even my ancestors--felt, and be able to write about it. As this was written very shortly after the death of the author's 22-year-old friend, I think there is a certain amount of anguish and despair automatically contained within the words he chose, and we as readers (or those of us who read carefully) can detect that personal loss and tragedy. On a slightly different note, I absolutely love the imagery, albeit somewhat bleak, used in this work--I'm a huge fan of colorful writing, and while this poem isn't a novel by any stretch, it certainly utilizes pictures well. The poppies among fresh graves, larks circling above the ring of gunshots and yells, the figurative dead passing on the torch of war to so many new, unsuspecting young men...it is a powerful painting.

~Hannah M.

I think "Dulce et Decorum Est" was more powerful than "In Flanders Fields" because it paints a better picture in my head of what life in the war was like. Its very moving because it goes into detail about the different aspects of fighting in the war. The poem is well written and gave me a new perspective of what life was like in the war.

I prefer In Flanders Field: John McCrae compared to Dulce et Decorum Est: Wilfred Owen. Flanders Fields talks about what the result of war is, which is death. Dulce describes the war to us though his eyes and how he would put it to into a poem. I don’t like the way he expresses what is going on. For example “Gas! Gas! Quick boys” just in my opinion. I might open other’s eyes to how WW1 was. But Flanders Fields made WW1 clearer to it’s after causes of war.

I think the "Dulce et Decorum" was better written. It got into much more detail then the "Flanders fields" poem. The Flanders fields poem was not terrible, but the other one got me thinking more and helped me understand some things better.

Ducle et Decorum Est: Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
In my opinion was written in much more depth which gave the reader a much easier understanding of the poems. I also thought flanders fields was a well written poem, but I can see readers who have never heard learned about WWI not understand it as well as Dulce.

I read "Dulce et Decorum Est". I was surprised by how much detailed imagery there was in this poem and found it more moving than "In Flanders Fields", although both were very strong and meaningful. However, I found "Dulce et Decorum Est" more powerful. It captured the gory aspect of being a soldier, including the physical and mental exhaustion, chaos and near-death or fatal experiences. The poem best describes a scene where a gas attack is being initiated against a group of soldiers, who painfully struggle to survive and save their fellow soldiers. I was very moved by this poem and the images and emotions it provokes. The most moving part perhaps is the last line: "Dulce et decorum est pro matria mori" which translates into English as: "It is glorious and honourable to die for one's country." It seems that many soldiers think the best way to die is to die defending your country, but this poem offers a very different perspective- that this saying is a lie because of the pain and suffering the soldiers would face as they died, and if more people could understand the horrors of being in battle, they would also think this saying is a lie.

World War I Poem
Austin Smith

I found the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, the most interesting of the two poems. Although I believe that In Flanders Fields was the better written of the two, whereas Dulce et Decorum Est seems more like a story, I still was more interested in it. I think that Dulce et Decorum Est, makes for a better understanding of the horror of World War I. When reading it, you can picture all of the scenes it is describing. That’s why I found Dulce et Decorum Est more interesting.

Flanders Fields is not only a historical work, but a very emotional one. It begins with a tone of any other poem lamenting the passing of life, but in the last stanza it urges the reader to carry on the fight of the dead. In "Dulce et Decorum est" it basically says if you run away, death will come after you. The message in "Flanders Fields" is one of hope and positivity which is why I believe it is the more powerful poem.

In Flander's Fields struck me as the most powerful.
The way it seemed the bodies were forgotten, the way it seems they're no longer important. Having used their life for the war, which still wages, and still kills. While birds fly overhead, and people walk by, the crosses seem forgotten in the poppies.

"In Flanders fields" was the most powerful poem in my eyes because it seems that it is more timeless than "Dulce et Decorum Est". "In Flanders Fields" has an appeal that isn't unique to a time period and does not speak about specifics that tell you what war it directly refers to, so in turn it can apply to all wars.

While "Dulce et Decorum est" was a very powerful examination of the horrors of war and felt very real to the reader, "In Flanders Fields" struck me as the more powerful of the two. "In Flanders Fields" puts the reader right into the mind of the forgotten corpses on the battlefield and depicts their feelings in a very moving way. Their last plea with the reader to carry on the fight to the enemy is a very harsh request, and it is also a plea to make sure that their deaths were not worthless.

I prefer In Flanders Field because it offers a more indepth poem and it tells a better story than Dulce et Decorum Est. Flanders Field can apply to many wars, not just WW1

I think that "In Flanders Fields" explained more about the poem because it is more to the point about what happened in battle. You can relate more things that are simpler to it.

In flanders field by John Mccrae had much more emotion and gave me the perfect picture in my head, The way the poem flowed also added to the depth of the poem. the meaning of the poem helped described the despair of being in a war, this is universal and it showed the mental pain that soldiers went through during the war

Matt D

"In Flanders Fields" was far more moving in its simplicity. Whereas in Dulce Et Decorum, the battle and its results were described in gory detail, the spare writing of In Flanders Fields shows more of the mental devastation, which is, in many ways, even worse than the physical destruction wrought upon the world.

i think Flanders field by John Mccrae was easier to read and had much more emotion in it. It truly allowed me to picture what world war I was like. It described a lot of pain that went through the soldiers head during the war. That is why i thought it was the better poem.

"In Flanders Fields," by John McCrae, was the more striking of the two poems on the handout. It captured the insignificance of a soldier in battle. It often seems as though we should focus on every individual, and mourn every soldier. However, it simply cannot be done, and more often, the dead are the dead, and there are far too many of them to count.

The poem also struck me on a visual level. The line "Between the crosses, row on row," conjures a vision of a cemetery; lines of small, identical gravestones as far as the eye can see. After all, a moment after battle is much easier to capture than a moment in battle, as far as the media is concerned.

Dulce et Decorum painted a very clear picture of what was going on, gore and all. But Flanders Field painted more of a picture of what it felt like for others at the time. THey both have different feels, and each is very influential.