My Father In The Navy Poem Analysis

Words: 1402
Pages: 6

There are many differences and similarities between “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “My Father in the Navy.” In Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Dulce et Decorum,” he expresses a soldier’s perspective on the inside of the war which is in contrast to “My Father in the Navy” by Judith Ortiz Cofer which states a little girl’s childhood memory of her father from an outside perspective on the war. The two poets write about military perspective but from different viewpoints due to living in different time periods and their own lives. Both poets use a number of literary devices including imagery, style of writing, similes, and both have experience with military backgrounds which helps to illustrate to the reader their view of military life and its impact on others. …show more content…
It feels like one is in the scene because it feels as though one could hear it. It is not about actually seeing it but using one's senses to depict what is going on in the poem. By adding in sounds, it becomes more interactive when reading the poem. Owen is trying to make a personal attachment with the reader in the third line he uses “we cursed through sludge.” Using the pronoun “we” indicates that the reader has been included in the story, making it more personal. In the fourth line, he describes the way the soldiers are walking. They are not even walking gracefully but very sluggishly as he uses the harsh word “to trudge.” The reader can actually visualize the way the soldiers are and what they have to go through in the war. It is very different compared to “My Father in the Navy” because the way it is written is not interacting with the reader. It has one point of view as if the author is the one explain the story throughout the beginning to the end. Cofer uses first person to tell the story as if she were the actual little girl informing the reader about her dad. There is however the feel of a disconnected relationship because her father is barely at home. In line 4 of “My Father in the navy” Cofer states “he was an apparition on leave from a shadow-world” indicating the memory that the daughter had of him since he was always away. The image is even stronger when she describes when her mother, brother, and she are constantly awaiting his