War is depicted as a horrifying experience in the sentence “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.” (Stanza 2, line 6). The color ‘green’ is used to show how disgusting the gas is as green is often related to grossness and a sea of the green on land will be no more pleasing. The poet uses “drown” as that is how gas kills people but also symbolizes being overwhelmed and having no say in your death. The fact you are drowning on land and cannot do anything to stop it conveys the trepidations of war to the reader and enforces a horrific emotion. 

The war is also portrayed as deadly in the lines “If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood - Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,” (Stanza 3, lines 5,6). “Blood” “gargling” out of his lungs uses a strong and potent imagery to shock the reader and communicate the fatality of the war. “Gurgling” is usually used when there are copious amounts of water, or in this case, blood. “Froth corrupted lungs” show the damage the soldier has suffered during the attack. It also illustrates the pain the soldier is suffering later on his deathbed; both show just how dangerous and how large the consequences can be when taking part in the war. Many people at the time thought dying for your country was honorable. However, like this soldier, sometimes immediate death was not issued. Instead, a long painful scrutinizing death was assigned. 

All-in-all, war is depicted as horrifying and deadly in this poem. This poem aims to debunk the theories of the ‘Armchair Patriots’ proposed and convey the real image of war to the people. 

One of the key ways in which Owen presents war is through his use of imagery which shows in the opening lines of the poem where the imagery of the soldiers "coughing like hags" and "fumbling" with their helmets emphasizes the dehumanizing effects of war, portraying the soldiers as bare shells of their former selves. By creating such a cruel picture of the soldiers' suffering, Owen conveys the harsh and real condition of war and challenges the romanticized idea of glory.

In addition, Owen also uses powerful language to convey the senselessness by describing the gas attack in chilling detail, with the soldiers "drowning" in the poisonous gas and one unfortunate soldier "flung" into a wagon. The use of verbs such as "drowning" infers the brutal and impulsive nature of war, highlighting the senseless loss of life that occurs on the battlefield.

It could be said that Owen presents war as a gruesome act, as seen in the quote: “flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.” in stanza two. The use of a simile comparing being poisoned by chlorine to a man drowning in fire shows how severe the situation the man is being in. The use of the word “fire” suggests that the man feels extreme pain, as prolong contact with fire does. The chlorine stings and burns like a “fire”. This further carved the image into the reader’s view, a man not choking on chlorine; but being sizzled and engulfed by flames. The use of the word “lime” suggests the chlorine is “quick lime”, used to bury dead people. This implies that chlorine is surrounding the man, and it would become his grave. The viewers might feel devastated, as of what chlorine can do to a man. An alternative explanation would be that “lime” is suggesting the sick, pale, disgusting yellow-green color that chlorine has. To put into context, chlorine is a poisonous gas first used by Germany against allied soldiers. It reacts with water in human lungs and produces hydrochloric acid; a corrosive liquid. The person who contacts with it would die a slow and painful death, usually lasting 4 weeks with inflamed lungs and sore togue. The poet included this scene to show the horrific side of war, other than what other pro-war poets are describing. 

The readers can infer that war is an unjustified thing from the poem, as seen through the quote “devil’s sick of sin” and “innocent tongues” in stanza four. The use of hyperbole, exaggerating a devil being sick of evilness. Shows that the death of the solider is so gruesome and unjustified that it even makes a devil be sick of it. “Innocent tongues” shows highlights that the soldier didn’t do anything wrong to be treated this way, having to die of chlorine. This shows that chlorine brings a lot of pain and is unjustified to be used on humans. This might make the readers feel astounded by how evil Germans are to use this type of attack method on innocent soldiers. The writer’s intention would be to exaggerate the fact that the unethical method of gassing people is diabolical and evil, therefore disapproving of some wheelchair patriot’s idea of war being patriotic and justified. 

“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a poem that revolves around the horror of war. The writer depicts war as lurid and unethical deed. The illustration of war brutally forcing soldiers to struggle and survive points toward the theme of horrors and trauma of war. This theme of horror leads the reader to feel pity for those who has died in the war.