Comparing Dulce ET Decorum EST and the Charge of the Light Brigade

The poems “The Charge of the Light Brigade” and “Dulce ET Decorum EST” are war poems. They reflect on two different but equally harrowing events, however the poets portray these events using their own style and the and result is two entirely different views of war.

From the earliest records of history, accounts of war have been portrayed as valiant acts of heroism. Children and adults alike have gathered together to hear tales of war and its glory. From the stories of Alexander the Great to recent-day movies like Saving Private Ryan, war has been praised and exalted with words such as bravery, honor, and freedom. However, Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" shows the ugly, horrible side of fighting. By use of gripping words and vivid descriptions, Owen paints incredible pictures of what World War I was really like. He tears away the glory and drama and reveals the real essence of fighting: fear, torture, and death. No

None of them wished to die, but many would inevitably rest on "a field where a thousand copses lie" (11). Crane next describes a father who "raged at his breast, gulped and died" (14) to further highlight the pain of death and loss caused by a war. Just as the woman lost her lover, a child lost her father and neither man died willingly or peacefully. Both men rather struggled and raged against death. Through such graphic imagery, Crane shows the reader a glimpse of the pain inherent in war.

During times of war, it is inevitable for loss to be experienced by all. In the poems “The Black Rat” and “The Photograph” written by Iris Clayton and Peter Kocan respectively, the idea of loss is explored through an omniscient narrator recalling a soldier’s involvement in warfare. While Clayton writes of a soldier’s abrupt loss of hope and how this experience negatively affects his life, Kocan explores how the loss of a loved one affects a family sixty years later. While both poems incorporate similar techniques in imagery and narration, the time setting for each poem is different as “The Black Rat” is set in Tobruk, Libya during World War 2 and “The Photograph” is set during World War 1.

The first poem we are going to look at is ‘The Charge of the Light

The memories and feelings that the memorial brings forth from the veteran are the driving force to the tone of the poem. The poems is heavy and heartbreaking. It clearly shows that the visit to the memorial has an enormous impact on the author. The author describes several different visions he has while at the memorial. The visions that he has are as real to him as if they were physically present. The author makes it easy to see and feel things through his eyes. The words used to describe his thoughts and feeling evoke emotions of sadness and at times, even despair.

In this essay, I will be analyzing the two different poems “Dulce Et Decorum Est” and “The charge of the Light Brigade”. While reading and analyzing these poems I will be comparing and contrasting the difference between the two poems and also determining the poet’s literary devices to make the point of both authors.

“Two Friends”and “The Charge of the Light Brigade” are both tales of brave men, who were willing to die for their cause.The “Two Friends” short story and “The Charge of the Light Brigade” poem show the themes of courage and honor through tone, repetition, and rhetorical question.

Death is an ubiquitous aspect of war; in virtually all wars, the sacrifice of soldiers is necessary for fruition. One of the reasons why Emily Dickinson could be considered a superior war poet to Rupert Brooke would be her method of deftly taking a more holistic approach to death within her poetry. For instance, Dickinson attempts to emphasize with the martyrs who perished in war. She wants to know whether the

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est

seems to base his poem on myth because overall he says that it is good

this, such as: "Cannon to the left of them, / Cannon to the right of

“Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen takes its title from the Latin phrase that means “It is sweet and becoming to die for one’s country”. Quite often the barbaric nature of war is over romanticized and the author uses this title satirically to mock the public’s deluded view of war. The poem graphically describes the hell soldiers have to endure in their everyday battle for survival. These are tragedies of war that only veterans can fully understand and Wilfred Owen tries to enlighten the general public of these tragedies through imagery and similes throughout his poem.

Analysis of The Charge of the Light Brigade This particular poem deals with the unfortunate mistake of Battle of Balaclava in 1854. In an attempt to retrieve their stolen firearms, the British, lead by Lord Raglen, took their light cavalry to the innocent Turkish territory, rather than the guilty Russians. In self-defence Turkey protect themselves by attacking the British troops causing hundreds of deaths but "not, not the six hundred". Tennyson uses various techniques to involve the reader more personally.

the theme of death. The speaker of the poems talks about the loss of a