Dulce et Decorum EstWilfred Owen’s

Anticipatory Question

If you were trying to convey a war experience, what specific writing strategies would you use? How would you write in a way that would effectively convey the feelings and experiences associated with war?

Strategy for Reading

1st glance: examine the appearance of the stanzas and their lengths

2nd glance: which person is used? 3rd glance: note verb tenses

Mini-Lesson: Verb Tense

One of them any decisions a writer must make is what verb tense(s) to use in a particular work to best achieve his/her purpose. Examine the sentences below, which vary in verb tense:

The mother ambled through the darkness, searching for her child. The mother had ambled through the darkness, searching for her

child. The mother ambles through the darkness, searching for her child. The mother will amble through the darkness, searching for her child.

Which is most emotionally charged? Which is the least emotionally charged?

Which places the reader closest to the event? Which places the reader furthest away?

Which sounds the most subjective? Which sounds the most objective?

Close Reading

List all of the verbs in the poem. How do these verbs contribute to the tone and meaning of the poem? Label the tense of each verb. Note shifts or changes through the course of the poem. How do these shifts affect and underscore meaning?

Strategy for Reading

4th glance: is the poem rhymed or unrhymed?

5th glance: lines of equal or unequal length?

6th glance: note lack of punctuation with the line; read it without pauses, as a sentence

7th glance: read, starting with the title, and mark sentences with a l.

Reading Strategy: SOAPSTone S: subject: What is the content of the text? O: occasion: What is the rhetorical occasion? Is it a memory,

description, argument, satire, summary, critique? A: audience: Toward whom is the text directed? Who is the

assumed audience? What are the characteristics of the audience? P: purpose: What is the purpose for writing this text? How does

the author develop this purpose? Are there multiple purposes? What kind of reaction does the author want from his readers? What is the intended effect of the article?

S: speaker: Who is the speaker? Sometimes the speaker and author are not the same. What is the point of view and how does it affect the construction of the article? Is there a notable bias in the article?

Tone: What is the author’s attitude? Does it differ from the speaker? How has the author used language (syntax, diction) to develop a paragraph?

Strategy for Reading: TPCASTT

T: ponder the title before reading the poem

P: paraphrase the sections C: contemplate the meaning beyond

the literal A: consider the speaker’s/author’s

attitude S: look for shifts (in speaker,

attitude, etc.) T: reconsider the title T: identify the theme