Dulce et Decorum est

Content Warning: The section features references to and descriptions of war and its effects on the human body, physical descriptions of the effects of chemical warfare, and discussions of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Dim though the misty panes and thick green light / As under a green sea, I saw him drowning” (Lines 13-14) describes the speaker’s vision of his fellow soldier through his operational gas mask. The “green sea” (Line 14) suggests a visual description of the cloud of chlorine gas: expansive and green in color. The greenish hue of the celluloid “panes” (Line 13) of the goggles in the gas mask distort the vision further by making it “[d]im” (Line 13) and blurry. The condensation that occurs inside the gas mask when breathing explains why the lenses are “misty” (Line 13). While this is all realistic description, the references to the sea could have made the audience think of deep-sea diving, especially the diver’s helmet, first invented in 1820. Because the home front audience would be unfamiliar with modern gas masks, Owen’s references to the sea allow them to see the gear—and the deadly situation—in familiar terms. The readers’ understanding of ocean drowning and water’s effect on the lungs might be the best