Which technique helps convey the horror in Dulce et Decorum Est?

• A. Irony
• B. Metaphor
• C. Personification
• D. Graphic imagery

Answer: (D)

Graphic imagery vividly conveys the horror. Owen grips the reader with explicit, sensory detail of the gas attack and its effects on the soldiers—the sight, sound, and physical torment that unfold in the moment of danger. This kind of concrete, shocking description makes the fear and agony feel immediate and real, pulling you into the soldiers’ fright, desperation, and pain.

While other devices appear in the poem, they don’t drive the horror as directly. Irony appears when the speaker condemns the idea that dying for one’s country is glorious, but that emotional twist isn’t what creates the gut-punch of fear and suffering in the scene. Metaphor and personification add depth or mood, yet the most visceral impact comes from laying bare the gruesome details of what the soldiers endure.