Gas

One of the most prominent symbols in the poem, gas symbolizes the poisonous nature of war. It is literally poisonous, creating a “green sea” (14) and leaving its victims “guttering, choking, drowning” (16). It is also figuratively poisonous in the way it sneaks up “softly” (8) on soldiers marching to their “distant rest” (4), forcing them into “an ecstasy of fumbling” (9) when they are already worn out from a day of fighting. Gas further poisons the minds of those who witness its ravages, like the speaker who must replay the horror “In all my dreams before my helpless sight” (15). World War I was the first war to feature true chemical warfare. The gas in the poem serves as a potent symbol of the poisonous nature of modern war.

Dreams

Dreams symbolize the inescapability of war in “Dulce et Decorum Est.” The poem itself recounts the speaker’s recurring dream of...