Explication of "Dulce et Decorum Est" In Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen explores the harsh conditions and realities of war. The burdens of war and the overwhelming weariness faced by soldiers are described in the first ten lines of the poem. Many soldiers in World War I did not have the proper training and equipment to fight a war. The long marches to battle through bad conditions wore the soldiers down and caused their reaction times to be down. The author is expressing the weariness of the soldiers and the hardships the soldiers are under ....