1. Read the information on Life in the Trenches
Silent Starter:
Read the information on Life in the Trenches

2. Exaggeration hyperbole personification metaphor

3. LO: To understand the theme and topic in a famous war poem
Dulce et decorum est
LO: To understand the theme and topic in a famous war poem
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4. Latin Translator Dulce Pro Decorum Et Mori Patria Die
Match the words to the English equivalent
Patria
Die
(as in ‘Memento mori’ – remember your mortality)
Dulce
For
(as in supporting – list the pros and cons)
Pro
And
(as in French – et tu?)
Decorum
Country
(as in Patriotism) Et
Sweet
As in ‘Dulce de Leche’
Or ‘Dulcet tones’ (a sweet singing voice)
Mori
Fitting; Proper
(as in remember your decorum – good manners)

5. Dulce et Decorum Est pro patria mori
“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”
Once you have copied out the translation:
What does this mean, in simple English?
Who do you think might say this phrase?
Why? Who would they be saying it to?

6. Dulce et Decorum Est pro patria mori
“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”
If this is the title of the poem, what do you think the poem might be about?
What about if I told you that the poem describes the phrase as “an old lie”?

7. Now watch the video and look at the slideshow of pictures
The poem describes a gas attack on a trench in World War One. The poem reveals to the reader the terrible consequences of a gas attack: 'the blood / Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs'. It also presents the unglamorous reality of trench life, with the soldiers described as being 'like old beggars'.

8. What happens during the gas attack?
What do the soldiers do to try to protect themselves?
What could the poet see?
What happened to the one man who ‘drowned’?
What do they do with the man afterwards? Does he survive?

9. Theme, topic and tone
Why do you think the poet is writing in the past tense?
How do you think the poet feels, having witnessed a gas attack?
Why do you think he is writing the poem?
Extension: At the beginning of the poem, you know only the title: you don’t know that he thinks the phrase is a lie. How does the content of the first stanza contrast with the title?

10. Attitudes Quote This suggests… High zest Children Desperate glory
Look at the last four lines. What do these words or phrases suggest?
Quote
This suggests…
High zest
People were very quick and enthusiastic about encouraging men to go to war
Children
The soldiers were young, too young to really think or make a decision about whether to go
Desperate glory
They all thought that war would bring pride, they wanted to be part of the victory and make people proud of them
The old lie
Lots of people must know that this isn’t true, but for some reason it is always repeated

11. Example…
Owen is rejecting the accepted attitude back at home that serving your country in war is glorious. He is critical of the 'high zest', or great enthusiasm, used to convince men to go to war. He sees war as brutal and wasteful of young lives. His choice of the word 'children' is also significant; impressionable young men are almost lured to war by the promise of 'desperate glory'.

12. Contrast
The phrase ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ makes you think about brave young soldiers. How do the soldiers in the poem seem to you?
The latin phrase suggests…
But in the poem, soldiers are…
Bravery
Patriotism
Strength …

13. Plenary
What message was the poet trying to get across in Dulce Et Decorum Est? Summarise his views onto one post-it note