Analysis of techniques from Dulce Et Decorum Est What Where How (technique) (evidence) (explanation) Personification clumsy The

helmet of helmets the panicking soldier is awarded the human attribute of being clumsy. Clumsy suggests it is alive and moving, but not in a controlled way. It is random.

Why (purpose) The fact that the helmet is alive and moving randomly and in an uncoordinated way means that the soldier has no power over the helmet. It, therefore, emphasises his vulnerability at this time when he is in extreme danger from the nerve gas. This links to the idea that there is no glory in war, by suggesting that soldiers are exposed to random acts which endanger them and emphasises their powerlessness.

How do we turn this into a paragraph in an essay? 1. Each part of the grid becomes a section of a developed paragraph. The first column becomes the opening sentence (the statement) of your paragraph, and the evidence is next introduced. The final two columns follow. Now, you need words which pad out the areas which need a bit more explanation or which need linking phrases.

2.

Describe an important image. Explain how that image helped you to understand the ideas of the text.
Using the question and grid entry above the following paragraph becomes possible :

An important image in Dulce et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen, is created through personification. When Owen writes that the soldiers try to fit their clumsy helmets during a mustard gas attack, he is giving the helmets the human attribute of clumsiness. To me clumsiness suggests that the helmets are alive and moving, but in an uncontrolled, uncoordinated and random manner. The fact that the helmet is alive and moving randomly and in this way means that the soldiers have little power over their helmets. It, therefore, emphasises their vulnerability at this time when they are in extreme danger from the nerve gas. This links to the idea that there is no glory in war, by suggesting that soldiers are exposed to random acts which endanger them, and emphasises their powerlessness in the face of this. (138 words)