Dulce et Decorum Est

What do the first four lines of stanza 1 suggest about the current situation of the soldiers?

• They have come to depend upon each other for their continued survival.
• They are depressed because they failed to achieve the day’s objectives.
• They have been at war so long that they can barely remember their former lives.
• They are retreating to their camp to escape the fighting.

What does stanza 3 show about the soldiers’ situation?

• The soldiers are not really able to leave the battle behind.
• The soldiers are capable of doing what they have to do.
• The soldiers learn to fend for themselves during a crisis.
• The soldiers are so weary that their mental state is affected.

Based on Stanza 1, which words best describe the soldiers?

• lonely and frightened
• weak and exhausted
• angry and resentful
• sad and regretful

Which phrase from stanza 1 best supports the fact that the soldiers were extremely tired?

• “cursed through sludge”
• “drunk with fatigue”
• “dropping softly behind”
• “haunting flares”

Which two adjoining lines of the poem show where the speaker begins to focus on the present rather than the past?

• “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”
• “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
  He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.”
• “But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
  And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime…”
  

What do these two lines best reveal about the speaker?

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

• He wishes he had tried harder to help the man who was gassed.

• He has developed new and intense fears because of the war.

• He sometimes cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

• He will likely never fully recover from what he endured in the war.

Which shift occurs in stanza 4?

• The timeline advances to after the war to show the effects the experience had on the speaker.

• The speaker introduces a conflicting point of view and then presents an argument to counter it.

• The point of view changes so that the speaker is addressing supporters of war propaganda directly.

• The scene changes from events that actually occurred to events the speaker imagines.

How do stanzas 1, 2, and 4 work together to develop the theme of the poem?

• By detailing both everyday misery and an agonizing death, the poem suggests that enduring the horrors of war is not wonderful or patriotic.
• By considering how war affects both individuals and groups of men, the poem suggests that not everyone is fit to fight in battle.
• By focusing on an unexpected and sudden event, the poem suggests that there is no good way to prepare for one’s own death.
• By describing negative things about being a soldier, the poem suggests that war is ineffective in resolving conflicts between nations.

Which statement best summarizes the theme of the poem?

• It is one’s patriotic duty to fight for one’s country, regardless of how unpleasant the consequences.
• Those who praise war and promote the involvement of young people are promoting a false image of glory.
• Engaging in war involves tremendous sacrifice and bravery for the public good.
• All possible methods of resolving conflict should be pursued before young people are asked to fight for their country.