In this essay I am going to compare Wilfred Owen´s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” and Rupert Brooke´s “The Soldier”. Both poems deal with the First World War, but this theme is understood in a different way.

“Dulce et Decorum Est” is divided in 4 stanzas. The first is an octave, a sestet, a couplet and the final stanza of 12 verses.

In the first stanza, the situation of the soldiers is described. In the conditions they are. At the beginning the poet speaks in first person of the plural (we cursed). So he includes himself, but then he says the men.

The characteristic that is more stressed here is the tiredness and the physical situation of the men, most of them injured.

The second stanza contrasts very much with the first. In the first, men appear as marching, but here there rhythm changes suddenly. As if soldiers would have suddenly been attacked. It starts with exclamations (Gas! Gas! Quick boys!). This shows how unpredictable the situation is at war time.

At the end of this stanza the narrator pays attention to another soldier that stumbles and cannot escape.

In the couplet the poet says that he sees that man drowning in his dreams.

In the last stanza, we see the cruelty of war. The poet expresses the experience of seeing that soldier almost dying. He describes it with all the details; he does not hide any detail, although they are quite explicit. This image seems to have a strong impact on the poet, he uses comparisons such as: obscene as cancer, or better as the cud.

At the end of the stanza, the poet addresses to a friend, that after living all that he would not say that is right to die for the native country.

So, the title of the poem appears also at the end of it. At the end, the sentence is completed. But after reading the poem, we see that the sentence of the beginning appears in an ironic way, because it is not really the opinion of the poet. The poem demonstrates that Owen does not think in that way, after all the horrors he has lived.

The poem is a description of the scenes seen by Owen at war, and the conclusion we get is that it is not a good thing to die for your native country. Here, we see how Owen is against war. Maybe for another one would be a great honour to die for England; but he seeing the cruel reality is not in favour of war.

Rupert Brooke’s sonnet “The Soldier” is also about war, but here we see that the author has another point of view.

The title of the poem introduces who is its protagonist, a soldier. In the first sentence of the poem, we see how the protagonist states a supposition. The soldier says to another one, what he would like the other person to think about him. He says that if he would be killed in a foreign country, that place would be another part of England. In this way, this country would be improved, because all that comes from England is the best for him.

He concludes saying that he would be in peace.

In this sonnet, we see the feelings of the poet. He is taking into account the fact that he can die at war. It is a possibility that could happen. Also he is in a dangerous situation; his reaction to it is not of fear. He is not afraid of dying, because he would die for England.

The word England or English is repeated through the text. The poet is very proud of his native country and always names it.

So, these two poems have in common the theme. Both are about war, concretely First World War. But it is very different the way they talk about it.

“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a longer poem; it describes the situation and an episode that Owen lived. It is a personal experience that in a way shocked the author. “The Soldier” is shorter, and it is a supposition that the author states to a friend.

Both poems are addressed to another person. But when Brooke seems to be talking about a desire, a dream; Owen talks about a nightmare. Both authors are living the same situation, but they seem to be living different realities.

Brooke tells the other, the way in which he would like to be remembered. He is proud of being fighting for England, and he does not mind if he dies. On the contrary, Owen tells the other that if he lived that experience; he would not say that it is right or good to die for the native country.

Owen´s tone is more negative, also his words are more realistic and cruel. Brooke does not see the negative part of war, his tone is very positive.

As I have said before, Rupert Brooke is constantly naming England or English. This shows how proud he is of being English. But Owen never says the name of his country, because he is not proud of the war he is at. Owen only says at the end patria, but it is not a specific name. He does not feel the same as Brooke.

The poems are like oppositions. For the poets, the word war does not seem to be the same. For Owen, it means blood, fatigue, injury... In his poem the word devil also appears. Meanwhile, Brooke talks about the richness of earth, love, he also talks about heaven.

Owen´s poem can be qualified as more realistic. Through this poem we can really see how a war is. There is no reason for loosing life; life is more important than any war.

In Brooke´s poem, the thing that is more present is his patriotism. He seems to love England more than his own life. For him, to defend his country is a very important reason to die for.

Also these poems show opposite visions of war, they are a very important example of war poems. And of how poets were affected by this important conflict.