Analysis of techniques from Dulce Et Decorum Est
What
Where
How
(technique)
(evidence)
(explanation)
Personification “clumsy
The helmet of
helmets”
the panicking
soldier is
awarded the
human attribute
of being clumsy.
“Clumsy”
suggests it is
alive and
moving, but not
in a controlled
way. It is
random.
Why (purpose)
The fact that the
helmet is alive and
moving randomly and
in an uncoordinated
way means that the
soldier has no power
over the helmet. It,
therefore, emphasises
his vulnerability at this
time when he is in
extreme danger from
the nerve gas. This links
to the idea that there is
no glory in war, by
suggesting that soldiers
are exposed to random
acts which endanger
them and emphasises
their powerlessness.
How do we turn this into a paragraph in an essay?
1.
2.
Each part of the grid becomes a section of a developed paragraph. The first column
becomes the opening sentence (the statement) of your paragraph, and the evidence is
next introduced. The final two columns follow.
Now, you need words which pad out the areas which need a bit more explanation or
which need linking phrases.
Describe an important image.
Explain how that image helped you to understand the ideas of the text.
Using the question and grid entry above the following paragraph becomes possible :
An important image in Dulce et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen, is created
through personification. When Owen writes that the soldiers try to fit their
“clumsy helmets” during a mustard gas attack, he is giving the helmets the
human attribute of clumsiness. To me clumsiness suggests that the helmets
are alive and moving, but in an uncontrolled, uncoordinated and random
manner. The fact that the helmet is alive and moving randomly and in this
way means that the soldiers have little power over their helmets. It,
therefore, emphasises their vulnerability at this time when they are in
extreme danger from the nerve gas. This links to the idea that there is no
glory in war, by suggesting that soldiers are exposed to random acts which
endanger them, and emphasises their powerlessness in the face of this. (138
words)