WW1 poetry analysis. Ted Hughes. English GCSE and IGCSE component for English Literature Details of Ted Hughes poems and comparison between his poems and others.

2. Introduction
In our presentation we will be discussing the use of
poetic techniques by comparing the following poems:
The Soldier – Rupert Brooke
Dulce et decorum est – Wilfred Owen
We will be breaking the two poems apart and describing
the tone, imagery, symbolism and emotion created by
the poets.

3. If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
The Soldier A dust whom England bore, shaped, made
aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to
roam,
If you have any questions, as to A body of England's, breathing English air,
vocabulary or an overall question Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of
Theo, Greg and I will be happy to home.
answer.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
When the soldiers went to war A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
each of them carried the spirit of Gives somewhere back the thoughts by
England with them, so where and England given;
when they fell, England lives on Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as
there as their gravestone and her day;
England shall remember those who And laughter, learnt of friends; and
died for ‘Her.’ gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English
heaven.

4. The Soldier
Iambic tone – upbeat, happy tone.
For example, ‘If I should die think only this of me.’ words that are underlined are
stressed syllables
iambic pentameter, pentameter meaning there are five stresses in the line.
An example of a metaphor - ‘That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is
forever England’ The death of the soldier has become more than just a tragic event.
It has served to enrich the soil of another country and actually make it a part of
England.
Personification is used to make England almost human, bringing the conception of
Britannia to life – ‘A dust whom England bore…A body of England’s, breathing
English air…England given Her thoughts and sounds, dreams as happy as her day…’

5. The Soldier
Overall I believe that the tone of the poem is upbeat and
shows how patriotic and brave the soldiers were during WW1.
There is also a sense that there will be an idyllic place, with
peace and serenity that can be achieved under an English
heaven.
The poet, Rupert Brooke, has used poetic effects very well in
creating a deep and descriptive poem, full of hidden meaning
and underlying context.
‘Literature is the study of life’ the wise words of Mr. Foakes.

6. Dulce Et Decorum Est
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed 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; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

7. Dulce Et Decorum Est
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!---An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
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.

8. Dulce Et Decorum Est
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,---

9. Dulce Et Decorum Est
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.

10. Dulce Et Decorum Est
‘It Is sweet and proper…’
The title is certainly not a true reflection of the tone of the
poem which ends with ‘…to die for one’s country.’ – ‘pro
patria mori’
Trochaic metre – sad, downbeat and depressing.
The poem is a true depiction of the harsh, brutal reality of
war.

11. Dulce et Decorum est
Lots of use of similes – for example, ‘Like old
beggars…like hags…’
Metaphors are also used – for example, ‘Haunting flares’ –
sinister, ghost-like. ‘Drunk with fatigue…’ completely
exhausted, inebriated.
Personification – ‘…Of tired outstripped Fives-Nines…’ –
even the weapons are tired, given human qualities of
exhaustion.

12. Conclusion
These poems look at war in two very different
ways.
‘The Soldier’ outlines how brave and patriotic war
is, where as ‘Dulce et decorum est’