The First World War was one of the deadliest results of human violence, simply to obtain wealth, land and to satisfy the greed for victory and pride. Young and old were tricked into joining the war to fulfill a fictitious, nationalistic duty, and were forced to live in the inhumane conditions of the trenches, offering their lives as a patriotic duty. In Wilfred Owen's poem, “Dulce et decorum est,” readers are given an accurate description of the hardships and horrors of the First World War, through personal experience and the eyes of Owen himself. Poetic devices and figurative language were both used flawlessly to depict the tormenting situations in which the soldiers were placed. Vibrant imagery, themes, and irony were also exceptionally incorporated into the poem, adding depth and meaning. With remarkable use of techniques, Owen truly creates a mental image of utter despair, disgust, revulsion and, well, war in our minds. The horrific conditions and quality of life in the trenches of World War I are emphasized by Owen's use of figurative language. , such as similes, metaphors and personifications. An excellent example of a simile would be what he wrote in the first line of the poem: "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knocking our knees, coughing like witches, we cursed in the mud" (stanza 1, line 1 and 2). This description portrays the soldiers as “crippled or “broken” and shows that they have been left scarred both psychologically and physically. It really helps us visualize a group of young men who are in fact exhausted and so “drunk with toil” (stanza 1, line 7 ) that they are unable to even stand and have lost much control over their physical actions By inserting these similarities, Owen adds more... half of the paper... with the use of irony, giving it greater depth, meaning, and soul.To summarize, Owen uses numerous literary techniques to illustrate his first-hand experience of World War I, and communicates his views with distinct use of metaphors, similes, personification, themes, imagery, and irony the high losses and unnecessary deaths in World War I were actually a metaphor for all deaths in modern warfare; the famous 'glory' of dying for the country was simply a lie. Thanks to this he managed to make it clear that “The ancient lie: Dulce Et Decorum Est, Pro Patria Mori”, 'It is sweet and right to die for the country' is a terrible misunderstanding, and the poem in it depicts an irony of death on the modern battlefield. No matter how noble the reasons, nothing but misery, heartbreak and agony can come from war.