11 Nov 2018

Dulce et Decorum Est poem by Wilfred Owen read by Terry Neason

Dulce et Decorum Est 
written by Wilfred Owen
read by Terry Neason 


"This poem is seldom read by a woman. I originally performed Dulce Et Decorum Est in my show, "Words of Pride and Passion". In my opinion, this powerful and poignant piece is one of the greatest Anti-War poems ever written."

Read by the Scottish singer and actress, 
Terry Neason.





Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. Born 1893 – Killed in action 1918





   DULCE ET DECORUM EST by Wilfred Owen

   Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
   Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
   Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
   And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
   Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
   But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
   Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
   Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind..

   Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling
   Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
   But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
   And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.—
   Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
   As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

   In all my dreams before my helpless sight,
   He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

   If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
   Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
   And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
   His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
   If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
   Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
   Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
   Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
   My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
   To children ardent for some desperate glory,
   The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.


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