Nature of war

However, in times of war, soldiers side step the thoughts of these consequences and defend go out to defend their countries’ territories. Failure to which the country will risk being wiped out. The soldiers expose themselves to all these dangers with the motive to keep the rest of the citizens safe. They die for the country. Even though defending one’s country is a noble course and of utmost importance, war should be avoided by all means because of the suffering and adversity it causes. ” This depicts the conditions of the soldiers in battlegrounds. Inhumane conditions that cannot be recommended for any human beings. Despite these conditions, the soldiers do not give up fighting for the country. They persevere to ensure the safety of their nations.

Wilfred Owen shows how the soldiers persevere in the battlegrounds; “Men marched asleep. In the second stanza, the poet uses imagery to vividly describe the battleground. He describes the toxic gases hurled at them. How they quickly jump out of the target place, filled with fright. Putting on gas masks hurriedly to avoid intoxication. Sometimes, some fail to put on the gas masks in time, they inhale the toxic gases and as a result face the harsh consequences, death. The persona vividly remembers the horrifying scene, as his mate is caught out by the enemy and chokes in front of him; “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. ” This is just one of the mane horrific war scenes described by the poet.

There is a high likelihood of more scenes like that. These experiences cause trauma to the soldiers. This is evident in the fact that most soldiers experience post-traumatic stress in the aftermath of wars. Wilfred Owen ends his poem by critically quoting the old saying that it is an honor to fight and die for your country and terms it as a lie; “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori. He even uses capitalization on the word lie to stress on the theme he puts across in this poem, the negative effects caused by war. Wilfred Owen does not support the idea of launching wars with other nations. Yusef Komunyakaa speaks about war and its effects in his poem, The Towers.

Komunyakaa is a veteran of war and speaks from first-hand experience too. How the people in the tower were busy with their daily schedules, some writing emails and other penning down letters. How on that moment of sorrow the plane struck into the buildings. Pieces of the building scattered into the air with the ground shaking from the effect of the crash. How the first respondents rushed into the scene, to rescue the survivors. Sniffer dogs were running through the ramshackle having false hopes of finding the survivors. The poet attempts to explain the effects of war and why it should be avoided by all means necessary. He shows the negative effects it brings to the country by describing a terror attack that happened and was experienced right in front of the public eye.