Dulce Et Decorum Est

[EnglishConfused]

How Does the Poet use Language to Communicate the Horror of war in Dulce Et Decorum Est? I've chosen to concentrate of Wilfred Owen's use of similes and i've quoted "Bent double, like old beggars" (refering to the soldiers). But I am having trouble explaining how this simile (or any other simile) helps to communicate the horrors of war. Please help here is the stanza I am concentrating on from the poem:

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Cheers

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by EnglishConfused

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

They are bent double (probably from the weights they are carrying). They are coughing (as a result of being gassed?).

Do you think there is somehow something missing there?

(Say: concentrate on)

~R