Extra task: Dulce et Decorum Est

Would you be willing to die for your country? Tough question!

 

Wilfred Owen might be considered one of the most famous War Poets ever. In 1917 he wrote the poem Dulce et Decorum Est. Before experiencing the poem, read a Dutch article by Anton van Hooff in NRC:  NRC article

Now read (and listen) to the poem by clicking on the following button:  Dulce et Decorum Est

Answer the following questions:

1. What impression do you get of the soldiers from reading the first stanza and why did they look like 'beggars under sacks' (line1)?

2. What happens in the second stanza and how does this affect the narrator later on in life?

3. What hypothetical case does the narrator put forward in the last stanza?

4. Would you be willing to die for your country? Motivate your answer.