Understanding the Impact of Rhetorical Devices in "Dulce et Decorum Est

The Poetry of Protest The Rhetoric of Protest Dulce et Decorum Est

Learning Intentions Technique To identify rhetorical devices. The Text To explore and evaluate the uses made of rhetorical devices in Dulce. Oral Presentation To initiate the idea of using 3 headings to structure a commentary.

Starter What is Rhetoric? Look at the images. What sort of impressions of war are they presenting and by what means? Work out the tools of rhetoric from these examples.

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What was life like for the soldiers? In a letter home on February 4, 1917, Owen described: "the universal pervasion of Ugliness. Hideous landscapes, vile noises, foul language ... everything unnatural, broken, blasted; the distortion of the dead, whose unburiable bodies sit outside the dug-outs all day, all night, the most execrable sights on earth. In poetry we call them the most glorious."

Looking at the Poems Content Context - Written to a certain poetess Jessie Pope.

Talking About Technique Question: How does Owen use rhetorical devices in Dulce to suggest that there is a gap between the way in which the authorities portray war and the reality of the soldiers experiences?

Looking at content After your first reading, ask: The quotation, Dulce et decorum est Pro Patria mori is taken from a lyric ode by the Roman poet Horace, whose poem exhorts the citizens of Rome to develop martial skills to fight for the empire. What story is the poem telling? Owen wrote in a letter to his mother: "The famous Latin tag means of course It is sweet and meet to die for one's country. Sweet! and decorous!" After your second reading, ask: What are the main themes? What is the purpose of this poem? What does Owen feel about this assertion? Don t forget the poem has a message.

Rhetorical Devices tri-colon figurative language tone anaphora argument questions diction- emotive language allusion aphorism irony rhetorical pattern form, structure, sound used to persuade use of absolutes anecdote hyperbole repetition

Key Questions What state are the men in? Where are they going? What happens in the last line of the stanza? What is the overall mood and pace of the stanza? How is this created? Comment on the impact of the poet s choice of adjectives. What is important about the choice of similes? Bent double, like of old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind: Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. Why has the poet chosen each verb? Comment on the choice of nouns in blue. What is the impact of the sentence structure?

What are the events of the second stanza? How does this alter the mood? Comment on the language and imagery in this section. Use the words to help you. PACE INSTRUCTION CONNOTATIONS END RHYME Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!- An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out andstumbling, Andflound ringlike a man in fire or lime Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. SIMILES ADJECTIVES CO-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS PRESENT PARTICIPLES Comment on SENTENCE STRUCTURE.

Comment, in as much detail as you can, on this section of the poem. Why use this word? Why this adjective? In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. What is the significance of the present participles here? Why choose this verb?

What does the poet describe in this part of the poem? What is the message? At whom is it directed? Comment on this stanza, using the guide points to help you. Make sure you have commented on all the words in red. This section is one long sentence. Comment on the effect of the way in which it is structured. What do the soldiers do with the dying man? If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil s sick of sin; Ifyou could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,- My friend, you would not talk with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. Comment on the description of the man s face and on the way in which his death is described. Who is the you in the poem?

Looking further at RHETORIC The art of rhetoric seeks to persuade. In order to persuade, there must be a degree of argument. - What is the poet s argument here? - How does he structure this argument? Evaluate the impact of the decisions that he has made.

3 Part Commentary The IB suggests that the commentary should have three parts to it or three focal areas. This means that you need to find three headings.

The Rhetorical Triangle The Ancient Greeks, taking their ideas from Aristotle, argued that every communication was essentially a trilateral relationship. 1. Ethos the sense of the speaker as a fair authority. 2. Logos the rational argument of the piece. 3. Pathos the emotional appeal. Use these headings to structure a presentation on Owen s poem.

Ethos the sense of the speaker The speaker needed to convince the listener / reader that s/he was a fair authority. What sort of voice does Owen establish for the speaker? How does he convince the read that he knows what he is speaking about and his fair?

Logos Rational Argument What is Owen s argument? How does he structure his argument? How does he make it powerful? How does sentence structure help? Is there anything that you can say about the form of the poem?

Pathos the Emotional Appeal How does Owen ensure that the poem appeals to the emotions? Comment on his choice of diction. Comment on the imagery. What is the impact of this on the reader?

Other Rhetorical Techniques Owen uses a range of other rhetorical devices as he develops his attack. Annotate the poem by looking at the ways in which these techniques are used.

Make summary notes, using the annotated versions of the poems.

Outline an Argument Introduction and argument.

How Does Rhetoric Work? With that caveat in mind, how does one make an argument persuasive enough to change the beliefs of another person? In classical Greek rhetoric, there are three basic approaches--three "rhetorical appeals"-- one can use to make a convincing argument. They include these three items: Logos (using logical arguments such as induction and deduction) Pathos (creating an emotional reaction in the audience) Ethos (projecting a trustworthy, authoritative, or charismatic image)