<P> "Dulce et Decorum est" (read here, on WikiSource) is a poem written by Wilfred Owen during World War I, and published posthumously in 1920 . The Latin title is taken from the Roman poet Horace and means "it is sweet and honorable ...", followed by pro patria mori, which means "to die for one's country". One of Owen's most renowned works, the poem is known for its horrific imagery and condemnation of war . It was drafted at Craiglockhart in the first half of October 1917 and later revised, probably at Scarborough but possibly Ripon, between January and March 1918 . The earliest surviving manuscript is dated 8 October 1917 and addressed to his mother, Susan Owen, with the message "Here is a gas poem done yesterday (which is not private, but not final)." </P> <P> Formally, the poem combines two sonnets, though the spacing of the stanzas is irregular . The text presents a vignette from the front lines of World War I; specifically, of British soldiers attacked with chlorine gas . In the rush when the shells with poison gas explode, one soldier is unable to get his mask on in time . The speaker of the poem describes the gruesome effects of the gas on the man and concludes that, if one were to see first - hand the reality of war, one might not repeat mendacious platitudes like dulce et decorum est pro patria mori: "" It is sweet and proper to die for the fatherland ." </P>

What kind of poem is dulce et decorum est