How does it feel to be in the middle of the bloodiest war in history? Surrounded by death on all sides, it seems impossible that anyone would write poetry on this very subject. Thanks to the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est”, Wilfred Owen offers the reader a small window into the horrors he witnessed firsthand in the carnage of battle. Facing death at every turn, Owen takes the time to recount these terrible events that occurred shortly before his death. Owen uses rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to convey the message that people should be careful about glorifying war because it is a very traumatic event that takes many innocent lives. When a reader tries to figure out the rhythm of "Dulce et Decorum Est" it becomes a little difficult to find any kind of rhythm. Reading the poem briefly, you notice that there seems to be a heartbeat in the poem when it states in line 3, “Until the eerie gleams we turned our backs.” Owen uses iambic pentameter to achieve this pattern as do almost all lines that have an ascending meter and 5 feet. Having this underlying heartbeat of the poem speaks to humanity and allows the reader to personalize what is being said. Owen then compares the use of iambic pentameter in several lines, including line 23, when he says “Bitter as the cud,” as if to really make it stand out to the reader. Owen then cuts the pace further to make it seem like he is telling a story to the reader. This is evident when an individual begins to encounter the heavy use of punctuation when saying: “But limping, blood-shood. All became lame, all blind” (6). It also makes the poem more vivid in its entirety and makes the reader really stop and think about what is happening in the verse. Owen in... middle of paper...... that "someone was screaming" (11), and that there was "blood" (22) "gargled from the lungs corrupted with foam" (23) . With the rich imagery used throughout the poem, it becomes clear that Owen intended to use imagery to help the reader feel as if they were present in the situation alongside them. This allows the reader to personalize this situation and gain a better understanding of the message being sent. Through the use of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery Owen forces the reader to reflect on the thought that war is not an event that should be taken lightly. Many kind and brave soldiers have lost their lives throughout the history of mankind, and that loss of life, while honorable, is extremely tragic. Thanks to Owen's poetry people are able to look back on this moment in history and hopefully learn valuable lessons about the value of human life.