In World War I, trench warfare was the modern fighting style at the time and was one of the most brutal styles of fighting in history.  There were weapons used in World War I that are now deemed inhumane in today’s modern warfare. “Some 60 million soldiers from all over the world served in the First World War, fighting in locations varying from France to Iraq, Greece to China, the North Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and experiencing a huge range of types of combat” (British Library).  Millions of soldiers died serving their country in World War I and many died in violent ways. These fallen soldiers are still honored today through monuments and holidays across the world for their service to their countries.  But these monuments and holidays may not do a justice compared to what these soldiers actually experienced in war and the pain and suffering they had to endure when they died.  A poem about World War I by Wilfred Owen called “Dulce et Decorum Est” mentions the pain and suffering of soldier dying in the war and raises the question as to whether dying in violent and inhumane ways is worth the honor it brings to the soldier and its country (Owen).  Meanwhile, a poem by Rupert Brook called “The Soldier”, soldier describes the honor that comes with fighting a war for his country and the legacy that is left behind when he dies (Brook). Through the use of word choice, mood, and plot, Rupert Brook’s “The Soldier”, and  “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, contrast whether it is worth it for a soldier to suffer if it means they bring still bring honor to their country.

There is a major contrast between the word choices of the two poems when mentioning the honor of fighting for one’s country.  In “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke, a soldier describes dying for his country with positive words mentioning the beauty of England and the legacy he is going to leave behind.  The soldier mentions “Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day / And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness / In hearts at peace, under an English heaven” (Brook lines 12-14).  The soldier is saying that fighting will all be worth it in the end because England will be preserved and he will end up in a peaceful English heaven when he dies honorably. If there were no context to the lines above, it would not sound like a poem relevant to warfare or dying.  The words used in this poem are peaceful and relevant to the love of England.  This soldier is proud to be fighting for his country and wants to leave a legacy in England behind.  Meanwhile, “Dulce et Decorum Est” uses violent words to describe graphic scenes to make a point that as honorable as war may be, it is still violent and people are still suffering.  The poem illustrates the suffering of soldiers saying “He [plunged] at me, guttering, choking, drowning” (Owen line 16).  The poem uses three different words that have to do with killing someone and its only referencing one person.  This is reiterating the fact that the soldiers are not only dying but they are suffering.  Furthermore, the last line of the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est / Pro patria mori.” is latin for “it is sweet and proper to die for one’s country” (Owen 26-27).  Latin is a dead language indicating that the saying is outdated and doesn’t carry the same meaning anymore.

The mood of “The Soldier” is a lot more peaceful and slowed down than “Dulce et Decorum Est” which is more panicked and violent when talking about World War I.  In “The Soldier”, the narrator says that “If I should die, think only this of me: / That there’s some corner of a foreign field / That is forever England” (Brooks 1-3).  The narrator is in a tranquil mood and sounds content with the fact that he is going to die and leave a legacy behind in England.  He’s insinuating that England is beautiful because of the people that have died for the country to preserve it.  Meanwhile “Dulce et Decorum Est” has a mood that is much more depressing and sad because the poem is about soldiers who are watching their fallen brothers suffer.  The poem mood is malice and depressing as it mentions the suffering soldier and “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” (Owen 20-22).  The mood is depressing as the narrator is losing his friend and watching him suffer right in front of him.  As honorable as it is for this soldier to die it was in such a violent way, that it really isn’t worth the honor that comes with fighting.

The plot of “The Soldier” reflects on why it is worth it for a soldier to give his life and that England wouldn’t be the same without the soldiers that have all given their lives for the country.  The poem mentions “In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; / A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware” (Owen 4-5).  The narrator of the poem is referring to the people buried for giving their life and that those who have given their lives have shaped England and that it wouldn’t be the same without this “dust” or fallen soldiers who have been buried.  It’s hard to believe that people would want to fight in a war that is much bigger than them but people were motivated by something when they decided to fight.  “Traditionally, the authorities believed – or hoped – that men would be motivated by loyalty to an idea: usually patriotism. French and Serbian soldiers were defending their homeland against invasion, while British, German and Austrian soldiers were encouraged to focus on their duty to their King or Emperor” (British Library).  The soldiers may have had the initial motivation to fight but once they were in actual warfare it affects everyone differently.  In “Dulce et Decorum Est” the soldier loses his motivation to fight for his country as he watches his brother in arms die in front of him and is in a struggle to avoid tear gas.  The narrator is watching his friend die as he says “under a green sea, I saw him drowning” (14).  Tear gas was an extremely deadly weapon used in World War I and is classified as a chemical weapon today.  Furthermore, tear gas is not an instant death and could lead a slow and painful death.  “A poison gas attack meant soldiers having to put on crude gas masks and if these were unsuccessful, an attack could leave a victim in agony for days and weeks before he finally succumbed to his injuries”  (History Learning Site).  This makes it more obvious why a soldier would lose the motivation to fight for his country and die honorably.  An honorable death shouldn’t include weeks of suffering not knowing whether or not it was survivable.  Gas attacks weren’t an uncommon weapon in World War I either.  Poison gas almost had to be used in World War I because charges in trench warfare led to too many casualties so gas had to be used to clear out trenches (History Learning Site).   “In total there were about 1,250,000 gas casualties in the war but only 91,000 fatalities.  However, these figures do not take into account the number of men who died from poison gas related injuries years after the end of the war; nor do they take into account the number of men who survived but were so badly incapacitated by poison gas that they could hold down no job once they had been released by the army” (History Learning Site).  The amount of casualties that fellow soldiers had to witness suffer and die right in front of them had to be traumatizing.  Watching the life drain out of their brothers in arms can mentally scar them for life and that’s why the soldier lost his motivation to fight for his country he had just seen too much.  

Soldiers that fought in World War I had to have a motivation to fight in such a vulgar war.  Many fought for their country like the narrator in “The Soldier” but its also very possible that many came out of the war scarred like the narrator in “Dulce et Decorum Est”.  The harsh reality of war is that it is young men with plenty of life left in them giving their lives for their country.  But the question is whether it is worth it for the soldiers to die for their country if it means they have to suffer for days or even weeks in pain before they “honorably die”.
