The title of this poem, "Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria Mori" is latin and means "it is sweet and fitting to die for your country". The poem is about the experiences of soldiers during World War I when people still believed that it was the patriotic duty of young men to go to war and risk death for their country. However at this time, with no television coverage and newspaper censorship, these young heroic men were unaware of the horrors that would await them on the battlefield and in the trenches. Wilfred Owen was one of these young men. He was one of the "war poets" who used his poetry to convey the truth about the cruelty and waste of war and show his pity for its victims. Wilfred Owen was one of those victims, he died one week before the end of WWI .
             During WWI, many millions died whilst many more millions were horribly wounded. They were surrounded by danger from shells, gunfire and poison gas. Poison gas was a new weapon – the invisible enemy! If soldiers were not quick enough to get their gas masks on they risked being blinded and choked by the gas which burned their eyes and lungs. Many soldiers who retreated in panic and confusion to evade the shelling were tried as deserters and shot by firing squad.
             The poem opens with some soldiers making their way back from the front line to the safety of their camp, the "distant rest". They are exhausted and are unaware of what is happening around them. Suddenly there is a gas attack and they rush to put on their gas masks. However one soldier is too slow and inhales the lethal gas.
             As the poem starts, Owen uses similes like "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks", and "coughing like hags" comparing the soldiers to old, frail, ragged and sick women. He also uses phrases like "Men marched asleep" and "Drunk with fatigue" to convey
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