Anthem for Doomed Youth

“Dulce Et Decorum Est“ by Wilfred Owen (October 1917 – March 1918)

This is one of the most horrifying and biting poems in the English language. The title is a Latin phrase by the Roman writer Horace. The full phrase is Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori (It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.) This appears at the end of the poem but must be read in context. The poem describes the horror of a poison-gas attack, which Owen endured along with his men. Four lines from the end, the poet addresses his “friend,” by whom he means Jessie Pope—the author of many children’s books. Owen says that if Pope could have experienced in a dream what he and his men went through, “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.”

“Strange Meeting“ by Wilfred Owen (1918)

This unfinished poem is one of the last Owen wrote. In a kind of dream or phantasm, the poet escapes from the battle and goes down a long tunnel (resembling the conditions in which the soldiers slept). A dead man springs up and seems to recognize him. The man speaks of the similarity in their lives; they shared the same hopes. He also tells of his regret that his life was cut off before he was able to tell people the truth about the horrors of war. In the end, he reveals himself as “the enemy you killed, my friend,” just the day before.

“Disabled“ by Wilfred Owen (October 1917 – July 1918)

A war veteran whose legs have been amputated sits in a wheelchair in a park. Looking back, he wonders why he enlisted. He was too young to join the army and had to lie about his age in order to be accepted. He knew nothing of what he would face and had an unrealistically romantic view of war. Now he is sick and must endure the pity of others. He feels only misery and despair.