Refer to explorations in literature for a complete version of this poem. read these lines from "dulce et decorum est" by wilfred owen. gas! gas! quick boys! —an ecstasy of fumbling, fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, but someone still was yelling out and how do these lines evoke a sense of the time and place in which this poem is set? the repetition of the word gas, the exclamation "quick boys," and the reference to "helmets" all convey that this poem takes place during world war i and describes a chemical weapons attack. the mention of "helmets" and the use of the modern phrase "just in time" indicates that this poem depicts soldiers fighting in a war that took place after 1950, likely the vietnam war. the use of the word gas and the phrase "ecstasy of fumbling" reveals that this poem depicts poorly trained world war ii soldiers whose vehicle has run out of fuel just as an enemy attack begins. the description of a person "yelling out and stumbling" suggests that this poem takes place in a hospital where soldiers who have returned from battle in the revolutionary war are dealing with the horrors they faced.