World War I was largely promoted by propaganda. Governments during the First World War devoted massive resources and huge amounts of effort to producing material designed to shape opinion and action internationally (Cooke). In Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and Siegfried Sassoon’s “They” the opposing, gruesome side of the war is expressed through the poem’s tone and diction. Owen’s and Sassoon’s work broke the idea of a patriotic and heroic soldier and showed the realities of dying, being injured, or becoming mentally traumatized while fighting in a war. These two poems express the harsh realities of World War I and the physical and mental affects they had on soldiers in the 1920’s. 

Propaganda was used during this time to convince soldiers to enlist and fight in the war, “Influencing the reporting of the war around the world, with the aim of gaining support and sympathy, was an important objective for all states” (Cooke). These two poems, “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “They,” both show the opposing views of propaganda which are the gruesome realties of dying in a war. Propaganda was used to build support for the war, but instead of building support for the war these two poems expressed the true efforts while fighting in a battle. Rather than propaganda exposing the gory reality of war, it focused on recruiting soldiers by focusing on the patriotic aspects. Owen uses similes like “bent double, like old beggars under sacks” (line 1) and “coughing like hags” (2) to give readers imaginative representations of the soldier’s unfortunate body conditions, and how truly destructive the war is on soldiers. Owen’s use of descriptive gruesome language further expresses the tone of this poem. These descriptions challenge the universal view of a patriotic soldier fighting happily in a war. Sassoon in “They” also uses figurative language to describe the gruesome side of the war. “They have challenged Death and dared him face to face” (6), Death is signified as an actual person rather than an idea further revealing how prominent death is on the battle field. This gives the idea of death a much more personal and tangible relationship to the soldiers. Along with both poems showing a different perspective of the war which battled the universal view of World War I, both poems also show how soldiers were affected physically. In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” men are described by physical features “His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin” (20), along with in “They” men are expressed to be changed physically, “For George lost both his legs; and Bill’s stone blind” (8). The men being described in both poems are physically weakened from the war, and it is evident that the war has taken a very large toll their health. The figurative language in these poems reflect the actualities of becoming physically destroyed due to war. 

Although both poems refer to World War I and show the horrific reality of fighting in a war, these poems are separated by their distinctive tone and diction. In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” a tone of sadness and gloom is expressed. Men are being brutally mutilated “behind the wagon we flung him in, and watch the white eyes writhing in his face” (18-19) and “he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” (16). The diction expresses in grave detail the horrific trials the soldiers have to endure. This intense word choice causes readers to have an emotional response towards the poem. While in “They” the readers cannot determine how the soldiers received their wounds, just that they have impairments. “The Bishop tells us: When the boys come back they will not be the same; for they’ll have fought” (1-2) with this lack of knowledge, “They” has a tone of sympathy for the soldiers. The poem states “We’re none of us the same!” (7) and “you’ll not find a chap who’s served that hasn’t found some change” (10-11) expressing the soldiers fate without excessive detail of how it came to be. This poem focuses more on the aftermath of the war and the mental toll as well as the physical that was taken on the soldiers. The physical changes the soldiers have in both poems are a physical representation of the effect of the war. The wounds to their bodies will be permeant reminders of the war. 

In these poems the soldiers are physically dismantled. In German society the First World War led to particularly intense debates over whether or not combat had been healthy or destructive for the male psyche and body (Crouthamel 60). Through these poems use of descriptive diction readers learn that the war was destructive towards these men’s bodies that are described in both poems. Some of the most interesting approaches to the history of male gender anxieties are found in recent scholarship on psychological trauma in the First World War (Crouthamel 62) showing that World War I did have psychological affects among soldiers along with injuries. During this time period, fears about the spread of homosexuality dominated medical and popular debates about an alleged crisis in male sexual behavior (Crouthamel 64). Accusations during that time period of homosexuality was an idea that contrasted the normal beliefs for a masculine soldier. This shows the pressure men were under from society while also under the pressure of the war. Readers are able to identify in the poem “They” that soldiers are coming home changed both physically and mentally. Through Jason Crouthamel’s writing in “Male Sexuality and Psychological Trauma: Soldiers and Sexual Disorder in World War I and Weimar Germany,” a clear connection is made between soldiers coming home abused mentally and physically, and the history of men during that time period coming home traumatized. 

Owen and Sassoon’s poems both took an unorthodox approach to reflecting the realities of fighting in World War I. In contrast to the normal thoughts of heroism and patriotic soldiers, these works reflected the horrific and sad side of the war. The distinct tone and diction in “They” and “Dulce Et Decorum Est” separated the poems, but they reflect one another with the same main idea of World War I soldiers fighting brutality in the war. During this time period of the 1910’s, men were coming home traumatized and severely impacted both mentally and physically. Readers are able to see firsthand through diction, figurative language, and tone the effects of the war on soldiers. 
