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Owen wrote the majority of “Dulce Et Decorum Est” in iambic pentameter, which means that each line consists of five iambs. (Recall that an iamb is a metrical foot with one stressed and one unstressed syllable, as in the word “be-hind.”) Iambic pentameter has long been considered the most natural-sounding meter in the English language. The moderate line length communicates a degree of measure and sobriety that has made it a consistent choice among poets who, like Owen, wish to take up serious subject matter. That said, the poem also features a great deal of metrical variation, creating frequent divergences from iambic rhythm that often evoke the chaotic confusion of war. As an example, consider the poem’s opening four lines:

Bent dou- / ble, like / old begg- / ars un- / der sacks,
Knock-kneed, / cough-ing / like hags, / we cursed / through sludge,
Till on / the haunt- / ing flares / we turned / our backs,
And towards / our dis- / tant rest / be-gan / to trudge.

Though these lines feature trochees (stressed–unstressed) and spondees (stressed–stressed), the underlying rhythm is still clearly iambic. The first line both opens and closes with iambs, and the second line ultimately reverts to iambic rhythm. The two lines that follow are then both written in regular iambic pentameter.

But this regular iambic pattern doesn’t last long. As the passage continues in lines 5–8, further rhythmic shifts bring more complication:

Men marched / a-sleep. / Man-y / had lost / their boots,
But limped / on, blood- / shod. All / went lame; / all blind;
Drunk with / fat-igue; / deaf e- / ven to / the hoots
Of gas- / shells dropp- / ing soft- / ly be-hind.

Just as the opening lines did, these feature metrical feet of various types, again including trochees and spondees. The third line also includes a pyrrhic (unstressed–unstressed), and the short fourth line concludes with an anapest (unstressed–unstressed–stressed). Admittedly, some readers might be inclined to interpret these lines as primarily iambic in rhythm. The first lines, for instance, could technically scan as follows:

Men marched / a-sleep. / Man-y / had lost / their boots,
But limped / on, blood- / shod. All / went lame; / all blind

However, this interpretation of the meter is arguably forced. Owen’s diction, as well as his use of punctuation, subtly compel the reader to stress many more syllables in these lines. The additional stresses create a sensation of heaviness that appropriately echoes the trudging march being described. Owen uses metrical variation to similar effects throughout the rest of the poem.

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