"MCMXIV" and "Dulce et Decorum Est"

A. Taking "MCMXIV" one paragraph at a time you can notice that the first one is describing the enlisting lines in a somber way, almost as if the people did not want to join but were doing so for the strong sense of nationalism for their country. The second paragraph made me almost depict all empty streets except for the pubs open which were packed full of people drinking away their fears of losing a loved one in the war. The next paragraph showed how almost the countryside represented the peace and beauty before the storm like we see so many times in history. The final paragraph kind of leaves us hanging sad and depressed showing that so many innocent lives would be lost. "Dulce Et Decorum Est" was much more angry and aggressive with words and, except for the final paragraph, very repetitive in the fact that Wilfred Owen wanted you to fully understand what was going on around this time especially since he witnessed it first hand. At the end Wilfred loads a soldier into a truck almost like it was his friend which maybe showed that so many people were lost that were close to each other. At the end the quote "Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori" sounds almost like one of the prayers that the assassin's creed characters say to one of the important people they have just killed. The quote means "it is sweet and noble to die for one's country".
B. The title "MCMXIV" stands for the year 1914 explaining the transition from volunteer lines to enlist up to changes in England. And "Dulce et Decorum Est" stands for "sweet and fitting to".
C. The two poems relate because they both speak of war, pain and suffering. Also after further researching and looking it up I found that the two pieces were written about England in the first world war. I found it interesting reading both of them because "Dulce et Decorum Est" was written while England was in the world war getting bombarded while "MCMXIV" was written further along in history looking back. These together showed subtle but noticeable contrast and a drastic difference in tone (sadness, passion, anger, etc...).

D. I liked the quote from “Dulce Et Decorum Est”: “GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!- An ecstasy of fumbling, fitting the clumsy helmets just in time”. I liked this quote because it brought a lot of energy and excitement to the poem. Before this quote, I felt a little uninterested and bored, but this quote gave liveliness and energy as I read it.
E. I was interested by the first stanza in “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 disappointed shells that dropped behind”. I was interested by this because it let me realize what our soldiers do for us and the big sacrifices they make. I believe soldiers take the biggest risks in this world and those big risks that they take aren’t always seen by us in our world.
I. In response to Kyle’s question about this quote from “MCMXIV”: “Those long uneven lines standing as patiently as if they were stretched outside”, these lines being described are the lines of men waiting to enlist in the army.

Nicholas Leong


Mr. Thomas


English 10


Discussion board





1. The title "MCMXIV" stands for the year 1914 explaining the transition from volunteer lines to enlist up to changes in England while "Dulce et Decorum Est" stands for "sweet.


I. I agree with Ryan Woody where he says “The two poems relate because they both speak of war, pain and suffering. Also after further researching and looking it up I found that the two pieces were written about England in the first world war. I found it interesting reading both of them because "Dulce et Decorum Est" was written while England was in the world war getting bombarded while "MCMXIV" was written further along in history looking back. These together showed subtle but noticeable contrast and a drastic difference in tone (sadness, passion, anger, etc...).” I like where he says what are the same of the two poems.


E. I don’t really get the whole idea of the poem called, “MCMXIV” because I feel like there really isn’t a concept or main idea that I am picking up.

C.) In “MCMXIV”, I don’t understand what the role of the first few lines are to the whole poem. “Those long uneven lines standing as patiently as if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park.” Another question I have on the poem is what does it mean by innocence? “Never such innocence, never before or since.” Does it have something to do with the war? In “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, does this take place in World War 1 too? Also, did the author himself fight the war and he’s writing his experience and expressing his feelings through this poem?

E.) In “MCMXIV” I picture a very dark picture. But it feels kind of weird since in the 7th line it says that the people were grinning. “On mustached archaic faces grinning as if it were all an August Bank Holiday lark.” In “Dulce Et Decorum Est”, I liked how it’s more descriptive than “MCMXIV”. It was easy to figure out what happened, unlike “MCMXIV” where I had to think deeply to find out what was actually happening. The poem also gives me the dark feeling that the other poem gave. It’s also very full of violence. “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.”

The two poems both relate to war. When I researched “MCMXIV” I found out that the poem was written as a flashback to the past. Maybe the men standing outside in a line in the poem were the men volunteering to fight the war.

Peter Boustani


B. I think that these two poems fall into the shared idea of seeing things from the perspective of others. In the metamorphosis, Gregor's father has to go through exactly what Gregor had done every day of his life in order to support a very unappreciative family. In the poem that translates to say "sweet and fitting to", it speaks about the terrors of World War One and what the soldiers who did not make the call that brought the war to bring the war to fruition had to go through and experience and all of the horrors and trauma that came along with it. It spoke of the anger that these veterans felt as the countries were selling the military as something honorable when in fact such was not the case.
D. I really liked the poem about the World War One flashback because it was so dark and gritty. I really like the hidden messages that were all over such a shirt poem and once discussed in class, such as the misty panes representing the tunnel vision of the entire scene from the perspective of the narrator during the event. I love when I can re-read something and find new things hidden within it constantly. This poem was a prime example of it
C. I didn't understand why the author of the other poem decided to title his poem using Roman numerals. I remember we discussed that that may be important or may be answered during the poem but I didn't see any evidence as to why that may have been the case