Death’s Breath (Symbol)
Death's bad breath operates on literal levels, as well as on multiple symbolic ones. On the level of literal description, Death's bad breath contributes to the sense that Death is an everyday, human-like companion, one so well-known to the soldiers that they are familiar with the smell of his breath. At the same time, he's still unpleasant to be around. On a figurative level, though, Death's bad breath symbolizes the violence of chemical warfare. The adjectives Owen uses to describe it—"green" and "thick"—are applicable to chemical weapons as well, and the soldier's tearful reaction describes not only the sadness of grief but the physiological response to poisonous chemicals. By giving Death's breath this symbolic resonance, Owen links the timeless theme of death to the contemporary issue of chemical weapons.
Flags (Symbol)
Flags generally symbolize nations. In the context of this poem, though, they symbolize nationalism—the ideology of nationhood taken to extreme and harmful ends. The speaker argues that he and the other soldiers are giving their lives and killing others, not in defense of people, but in defense of flags. This is an oblique way of saying that the soldiers are dying in service of nations or countries—inanimate abstractions. By using flags to symbolize nationalism, Owen ensures that the concept of a country can't be glamorized or imbued with mystique through abstraction. It is reduced to a single concrete image, forcing readers to confront the absurdity of dying for something so minor.
