Whether there is a soldier fighting in the heart of war or a city dweller observing the death of civilians, poetry that describes a period of war often portrays it as damaging and destructive. In "Dulce et Decorum Est," Wilfred Owen takes a soldier through trench warfare that ends in the death of a fellow fighter. In "Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941," Sharon Olds has her narrator recount memories of a civilian urban centre during World War II. While both poets use similar techniques to convey the pain and anguish felt during times of war, Wilfred Owen is successful at constructing a more effective poem.

An important aspect of literature is the position of the narrator. In "Dulce et Decorum Est," Wilfred Owen uses the first person--point of view of a soldier fighting in the war. I believe that by doing so, he makes it easier to represent war...