War Poetry: ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen

Comprehension and the writer’s intentions

Learning Objectives:To develop an understanding of the

events depicted in ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’

To evaluate the poet’s intentions in writing the poem

Starter

Look again at these images

Make brainstorm in your book of adjectives to describe the experience of war e.g. terrifying; horrific

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori

How sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country

The order of events

In your book, write down the order of events in the poem

Soldiers walking through mud on the battlefield....

Owen’s presentation of war What are your impressions of the way in which Owen

presents war?

Write your ideas down as a list in your book.

Now find the most important 3 phrases from the poem which show Owen’s presentation of war. You should use your own judgement.

Write these quotations into your book under your list.

Group discussion

Discuss this as a group. You will be expected to feed back your ideas to the rest of the class.

Why do you think that Owen called the poem ‘Dulce Et

Decorum Est’?

Your task Write a response to this question:

What do you think Owen’s intention was in writing this poem?

You should think about: What message he wanted to get across Who he wanted to get this message across to

Sentence starters:When he wrote ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ Wilfred Owen wanted to get across the message that...He also wanted to remind people about...Owen appears to have wanted to get his message across to...He may also have wanted to...

Plenary

Here are some examples of your work...

What have they done well?

What could they improve?