Dulce et Decorum Est Seminar Reflection
The different view points about the common saying that is was “sweet and right to die for your country” really interested me because I was in the complete mindset that it really wasn’t, but after hearing some of the other perspectives on the issue, especially Jonathan’s, my perspective viewpoint on the topic wavered a little bit. Jonathan pointed out that somebody had to fight for the country, and it was kind of inevitable that somebody would die in war, and if they die fighting to protect their country, then maybe it should be considered sweet and right because you are acting to protect everything you are represented by. Regardless of Jonathan’s argument, I still think that the literal meanings of the words are inaccurate. I think that a more valid suggestion would be, “it is honorable dying to defend your country,” with great emphasis on the defend because otherwise, you are dying simply for your country’s advancement, which, in my opinion, can in no way be classified as sweet, right, or honorable.
From this seminar process, especially during the D/C Journal, I learned, and am still learning, that even the most literal things can be metaphorical. At the beginning of this week, I took everything for granted because I am so inexperienced at analyzing poetry. For example, when Owen writes, “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots…” I automatically interpreted that as men marching falling asleep due to sleep deprivation. One of the most interesting things about poetry that I learned this week though is that some poems are so carefully thought out that they can deliver both their literal, deeper and/or metaphorical messages. The deeper message in this line being that, these men had been exposed to so much that they were numb to their surroundings, and they took notice to very little. The poem even later goes on to explain that they were “deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind,” which really clarifies just how much they had been through, if they paid such little notice to explosive shells. From examples such as these, I have come to find that even the smallest, most seemingly unimportant details can greatly contribute to the poem.
As explained in the first paragraph, I believe that it is never “sweet and right” to die for your country. A man or woman should never be obligated to die for their country, which is what the term sweet and right implies to me. However, I think that a person who dies strictly for protecting his country and what it stands for is honorable. The difference between the two is the messages implied by the different sayings. By making sure that the defensive aspect is the part worth dying for, it implies that this man had sacrificed his life in order to protect those relying on that soldier’s defense. This kind of story is an admirable, although tragic story that would provide children with important life lessons, but, as Owen quotes, “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,” because these children would imagine simply sacrificing themselves for their country in a war, despite the fact that it wasn’t for the protective interest of their country. As a result, everything in that child’s mind, who may eventually become a soldier and develop the idea further, would eventually destroy him for all the wrong reasons.
From this seminar process, especially during the D/C Journal, I learned, and am still learning, that even the most literal things can be metaphorical. At the beginning of this week, I took everything for granted because I am so inexperienced at analyzing poetry. For example, when Owen writes, “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots…” I automatically interpreted that as men marching falling asleep due to sleep deprivation. One of the most interesting things about poetry that I learned this week though is that some poems are so carefully thought out that they can deliver both their literal, deeper and/or metaphorical messages. The deeper message in this line being that, these men had been exposed to so much that they were numb to their surroundings, and they took notice to very little. The poem even later goes on to explain that they were “deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind,” which really clarifies just how much they had been through, if they paid such little notice to explosive shells. From examples such as these, I have come to find that even the smallest, most seemingly unimportant details can greatly contribute to the poem.
As explained in the first paragraph, I believe that it is never “sweet and right” to die for your country. A man or woman should never be obligated to die for their country, which is what the term sweet and right implies to me. However, I think that a person who dies strictly for protecting his country and what it stands for is honorable. The difference between the two is the messages implied by the different sayings. By making sure that the defensive aspect is the part worth dying for, it implies that this man had sacrificed his life in order to protect those relying on that soldier’s defense. This kind of story is an admirable, although tragic story that would provide children with important life lessons, but, as Owen quotes, “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,” because these children would imagine simply sacrificing themselves for their country in a war, despite the fact that it wasn’t for the protective interest of their country. As a result, everything in that child’s mind, who may eventually become a soldier and develop the idea further, would eventually destroy him for all the wrong reasons.