Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum est" and Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier" are both poems written about WWI by men who served in it. Both poems delve into different aspects of the war with Brooke's works generally being about war as a glorious, and noble subject. The works of Wilfred Owen tend to decry war and tell the people the truth behind what it's like out on the battlefield. Owen was a commander in the army during the war and received an injury after a shell exploded near him, upon recovering he rejoined with his unit. Unfortunately, he was killed in battle leading his men across a canal. Rupert Brooke served in the Navy and only really saw action at the Siege of Antwerp in which the Belgians, and assisting British, were invaded by the German navy. On another expedition in 1915, Brooke contracted a deadly disease from a mosquito bite and died. These differences in military experience, make it evident how personal experience can tie into the different tones and attitudes found in the two works and create contrasting messages between the two poets. The year each work was written also has a tremendous effect on the poems because at the outbreak of the war, the public attitude was almost excited to go off and fight a war. This was before people began to experience the horrible new war technology that The Great War brought with it, and by the end of the war the public attitude had totally shifted. Looking at differences in military experience between the two authors and the year each wrote his respected poem, a connection can be made between the differing tones and messages in each poem.

After reading Owen's poem, "Dulce et decorum est", one can see throughout the reading a grisly scene being painted about the war. The opening line goes, "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge" (lines 1-2). From this line, the tone of the poem is set, and does well to immediately create a very dreary and unhappy portrayal of what soldiers were going through during the war. This description is a direct contrast with the war propaganda out at the time, as there were posters and slogans essentially glamorizing the war. This comes in contrast with Brooke and his poem, "The Soldier". The first couple of lines go as follows, "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is forever England" (lines 1-3). Coming in direct contrast with the message Owen is trying to make evident, Brooke writes about dying in war as a noble, high honor act in hopes of rousing the youth or whoever is reading his works to consider joining and fighting. The purpose behind the poem is of course necessary at the beginning of the war, however it lacks truth and forewarning about the actuality of the whole mess. Now looking back to another line from Owen, "In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking drowning" (lines 15-16). This line is particularly moving because it shows a first hand experience and it describes in great detail a death from the effects of gas, which was a particularly popular method of killing in this war and was a horrible thing to experience. Looking at Brooke again, one can see a complete opposite message taking place. "A body of England's, breathing English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home" (Lines 7-8). This line is interesting in the sense that it sounds as if it is encouraging young men to die as they will be blest and washed by the rivers of the home land. Now taking Owen's account, in his poem he says, "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" (20-22). This account of a man dying from a gas attack does well to counter the glorious image of death in battle by describing how this man actually drowned in his own fluids from this weapon. The phrase, "A face like a devil's sick of sin" ultimately shows the horror and hell that is actually found in war. This can also tie to Owen's military service and what all he did in the Great War. Owen was a commander in the English army, he was injured first, took leave, returned, and was killed while leading men on a charge. Comparing this with Brooke's short tenure in the Navy it's easy to see why Brooke writes with the message he does. Owen, having seen the actual horrors of war writes in a way that he would want no one to join, or according to Owen, be tricked by the "Old Lie" (Line 28). 

The year each work was written is also a crucial element to the different themes found in each. Brooke's poem, "The Soldier" was written in 1914, which would coincide with the outbreak of war. Generally, at any outbreak of war, one will feel obligated to hold a high sense of nationalism. So naturally it would make a good deal of sense to write about a war with a sense of honor about it before the experience of a gas attack or mortar shower is felt. This can be seen by Owen in his poem "Dulce et Decorum est". Written in 1918, the close of the War, the idea behind this work is a stark comparison to the works of the pre-war buzz. The last lines from Owen's poem are, "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" (26-28). This line is particularly important because it decries a saying that has been in use since Roman times. Also it is a direct contradiction to the works of Brooke, and Pope and his poem "The Call", and it is believed that Owen wrote his poem in response to Pope. 

 Called the War to end all Wars, WWI had a lasting impact for years after and would ironically be followed by WWII relatively shortly after its end. However, the lasting legacy of the war changed the landscape and ideology behind war forever. WWI was especially gruesome with all of the advancements made in the art of killing. Mustard gas, increasingly powerful explosives, the machine gun, and airplanes created a totally new battlefield. Along with these new toys came a new kind of death toll and it was staggeringly high. A new form of ideology came along with this war which prompted people to be more expressive, and new forms of art and literature would come from it. Many poems from the likes of Sassoon, Pope, and Graves were particularly important because all these men spoke about the war and all took their respective stances.  By taking a look at the messages of poems from Wilfred Owen, and Rupert Brooke one can clearly see how their differing messages would come about from a difference in years written, and individual military experience. 

