In the poems ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson and ‘Exposure’ by Wilfried Owen, both poets incorporate ideas of patriotism to convey a message about the futility of war. This is revealed in many similar and different ways:
One of the ways in which poets present the ideas of patriotism is in the loss of hope as the war progresses, which patriotism helps to could help overcome in one war, but not another. For example, the soldiers don’t lose hope despite the mistake made by one of the commanders in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ due to their patriotic views as seen through the words: ‘Theirs but to do and die’ … ‘Into the Valley of Death’. The words ‘but to do and die’ suggest that the soldiers were so patriotic
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Similarly, Owen uses the concept of the futility of war in ‘Exposure’ to highlight patriotism through the words ‘merciless iced east winds that knive us’. The metaphor of the weather in ‘winds that knive us’ conveys the way in which the soldiers are facing another battle against another force in war, which is suggested to be their false beliefs of patriotism in the connotation ‘What are we doing here?’. Owen uses the rhetorical question in ‘here?’ to demonstrate the ways in which the soldiers feel that they have been betrayed by their false perception of patriotism, which highlights the potential propaganda set out during the beginning of the First World War, highlighting the true futility of why they were fighting a battle against nothing, as the ‘wind’ is just a force which is air.
A third way in which the poets present ideas of patriotism in their poems is through the different references of the legacy that the soldiers carry. This is presented by Tennyson through his last stanza, which states ‘When can their glory
Although there are many similarities between the poems if you were to read them each shows an entirely different aspect of war. Tennyson glamorises the war. His views of the war are very positive and he sees it as an opportunity for a man to prove himself. He speaks of the qualities of these men, of their bravery. They are charging in to almost certain death but yet they still follow orders and fight on in the “valley of death”. He doesn’t speak of the fact that this was a huge mistake by the general to send his men into almost certain death. He reflects the popular and widespread opinion of the time, which was that war was a great thing and all young men looked forward to being able to serve and die for their country. The main reason for this belief was that there hadn’t been a major war fought in Britain for the past two hundred or so years and people didn’t realise the horrors that war brought. Tennyson’s poem has none of the gory details of "Dulce ET Decorum EST”. “Tennyson’s poem is removed from the sordid
In this essay you will notice the differences and similarities between ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was written in nineteenth century by Alfred Lord Tennyson. In contrast, ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ was written in the twentieth century by Wilfred Owen. The main similarity we have observed is that they both capture war time experiences. However, the poets’ present these events using their own style, and the effect is two completely different observations of war.
War is a scandalous topic where peoples’ views differ as to what war is. Some people see it as pure evil and wicked while others think that it is brave and noble of what soldiers do. Looking at poems which had been written by people affected by war help show the messages which are portrayed. The two sets of poems which show different views of war as well as some similarities are “the Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars” by Richard Lovelace and “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, “The Song of the Mud” by Mary Borden. Both these poets use linguistic devices to convince the reader of their view of what the war is. Tennyson and Lovelace show how war is worthy
One is to think of war as one of the most honorable and noble services that a man can attend to for his country, it is seen as one of the most heroic ways to die for the best cause. The idea of this is stripped down and made a complete mockery of throughout both of Wilfred Owen’s poems “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth”. Through his use of quickly shifting tones, horrific descriptive and emotive language and paradoxical metaphors, Owen contradicts the use of war and amount of glamour given towards the idea of it.
We have been studying the war poems Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen and Charge Of The Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Dulce Et Decorum Est was written during the First World War from 1914 to 1918 whilst Charge Of The Light Brigade was composed in the 19th century, and describes a battle that took place during the Crimean War.
In the poem Charge of the Light Brigade Alfred Lord Tennyson utilizes repetition, personification, and diction to present how it is to be in battle and how it can impact people. In this poem Tennyson explains how the Battle of Balaclava
Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
The poet then presents a scene of patriotic relevance as he describes a scene of a regiment marching into battle with their “flag” and “Eagle with crest of red and gold” (17-18). When people think of flags, they think of patriotism and representing their country. Eagles also symbolize freedom but as readers can witness in the work, the poet makes it seem as if these men were created not to enjoy the gift of life for one moment by him saying “These men were born to drill and die” (19). This comes across to the reader as almost inhumane. Then by illustrating an image of a field of thousands of dead corpses makes any reader wonder why people even go to war. The whole fourth stanza paints a picture of living human being going into a battle with most, if not any, making it out alive. Like stated before, the speaker in the poem builds a case for those people that opposed to war even though the title of the poem might
A Comparison of Dulce Et Decorum Est and Exposure Traditional war poetry gives the idea of patriotic idealism of war. This style of poetry implies that war is patriotic and that people who fight for their country are honorable. But many of the poets do not portray war as it really is, by glossing over the gory details with attractive images. Many traditional war poems were written before the war to persuade and encourage young boys to become loyal soldiers.
“In his poetry, Wilfred Owen depicts the horror and futility of war and the impact war has on individuals.”
War is not heroic. War is sickness, struggle, and death. This is the message that poet and World War I soldier Wilfred Owen wanted to instill in his people back home. Those back home talked of glory and national pride and rooted for their soldiers, however, they were unaware of the horrors these soldiers witnessed and experienced. The soldiers and their people back home were not only separated by distance but by mental barriers, which Owen showcases in his poetry. Owen’s use of personification in “Anthem for Doomed Youth” degrades the soldiers to objects to show how the war dehumanized them to intentionally create a disconnect between the audience and the soldiers.
Owen’s poem has the clear intention of showing the true nature of war to the reader, which is mainly achieved by contrasting reality against the ways in which war is so
For thousands of years mankind has been obsessed with the subject of war, from the clash of swords to the bitter thunder of artillery mankind has brought upon itself an immense amount of suffering. Good evening teachers and students I am here today with the aim of convincing you on why Wilfred Owens poetry must not be ignored but instead explored to find the deeper meaning of his poems. The poetry of Wilfred Owen was different to that of other war poets of his time as it revealed the horrors and agony of the so-called Great War which were concealed by the Church and British Authorities for the purpose of deceiving the youth. The idea of romanticising war goes strongly against Wilfred Owens moral purpose, thus his Poetry is didactic and condemnatory. Throughout his short life he had first hand experience with the scourge of war. From this he aimed to debunk those romanticised notions of the glorification of war that were present at the time by challenging poets such as John Keats who glorified war. Owen effectively conveys the truth of war through his use of techniques such as imagery, ambiguity and many others in his poems of "Dulce Et Decorum EST" and Anthem For doomed youth.
Contradicting the Classical Ideas of Heroism and Romanticism in Dulce et Decorum est, The Send Off, But I Was Looking At The Permanent Stars, The Deadbeat soldier, Counter Attack, Metal Cases and other War Poems by Wilfred Owen
“The Soldier” is a poem about a generic, yet ideal soldier, which is indicated by Rupert Brooke’s use of the word “The” instead of “A” when describing the soldier in the title. The usage of “I” and “me” in the poem suggests a first person point of view, which makes the poem more personal and realistic to the reader. This poem is a sonnet because the first stanza contains eight lines and the second stanza contains six. Throughout “The Soldier,” the repetition of “English” and “England” shows how important his homeland is to the soldier and his high level of patriotism. In line five, England is personified, and although England is not a living thing, the soldier sees his country as his creator and as a sort of mother figure. Brooke’s use of alliteration throughout the poem helps it flow; the use of caesura breaks up the lines. Perfect external rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter are used throughout the poem, which both give the poem flow and rhythm. The “dust” in lines four and five is a metaphor for the soldier’s life; England created him and he will become “dust concealed” when he dies and is buried. The first stanza of “The Soldier” uses various lines of imagery: “some corner of a foreign field… In that rich earth a richer dust concealed… flowers… Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.” These forms of imagery emphasize the soldier’s death and how his death will cleanse him of any wrongdoings he had done in his time on earth. The “rivers” and “suns” are personified as