Comparing The Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce ET Decorum EST
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.
Alfred Tennyson wrote the “Charge of the Light Brigade” in 1854 and it is about the battle of Balaclava in the Crimean war. Although this battle had no real influence on the outcome of the war it showed the bravery of six hundred British soldiers who charged into almost certain death. The poem itself is a patriotic ballad keeping up with the tradition of the time. The poem is heroic and romantic.
…show more content…
On the other hand however he can also speed up the poem “Storm'd at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell”, to give a sense of frenzy.
Owen’s use of punctuation to convey a mood is depicted here “His hanging face, like a devils sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth corrupted lungs”.
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
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.
Imagine, he says, the urgency, the panic that causes a dying man to be ‘flung’ into a wagon, the ‘writing’ that denotes an especially virulent kind of pain. Hell seems close at hand with the curious smile ‘like a devils sick of sin’. Sick in what sense? Satiated? Physically? Then that ‘jolt’. No gentle stretcher-bearing here but agony intensified. Owens imaginary is enough to sear the heart and mind.
The Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est Alfred Tennyson and Wilfred Owen present different ideas about War in their poems, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est.’ Write about these poems and their effect on you. The first poem, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Alfred Tennyson was based on a newspaper article he read in the Times Newspaper on November 14th, 1854. The article was about the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War.
The two poems, “To Lucasta, going to the Wars” by Richard Lovelace and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen are both devoted to the subject of war. Lovelace’s poem was written in the 17th century and as well as almost all the poetry of the period has romantic diction. The war is shown as something truly worthwhile, glossed and honorable for a man. The protagonist is leaving his beloved for the battlefield and his tone is pathetic and solemn. He calls the war his new mistress and asks his beloved woman not to be jealous as love to her is impossible for him without honor. In this way the overall mood of the poem is idealistic and heroic. The protagonist refers to war as a thrilling adventure and even affection. The tone of the Owen’s poem
Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce Et Decorum Est,” written in 1918 during WWI, and Alfred Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” written in 1854 during the Battle of Balaclava both analyze the effects of war through their elements and tone words. However, the meanings of the poems differ immensely. In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” the writer portrays a soldier being scarred for life as a result of viewing a fellow comrade being choked to death on poison gas. In contrast, the author of “The Charge of the Light Brigade” instead chooses to admire the bravery and courage of the Light Brigade, even though they knew they might not return from battle.
Both of these poets wrote well known poetry about war. Despite "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Lord Alfred Tennyson and "Dulce et Decorum Est'" by Wilfred Owen were written in different centuries, they deal with the subject of war and describe the ups and downs of it. On one hand, Alfred Tennyson heard of the charge made by the light brigade and it was when he wrote his poem with no experience of the event. However, Wilfred Owen actually fought in the First World War, and wrote, unlike Lord Tennyson, from his own experience.
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.
Imagine going to fight in a war where the odds of winning are close to none. Now imagine charging forward where the enemy is attacking from three sides. This was the reality for a certain British Brigade during the Crimean War in 1854. In his 1854 poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred Lord Tennyson describes the Battle of Balaclava where the British march into their untimely death. Tennyson ends the poem with a significant few lines that read, “Honor the charge they made/Honor the light Brigade/Noble six hundred.” (Lines 53-55). By looking at the last sentences Tennyson writes in his poem, one is able to realize the significance of the Charge of the Light Brigade, and how those lines add to the glorification of war and honor theme seen throughout the poem.
Some of the themes from the poems are similar, such as the obvious war and death, but the main theme and message is different. ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ focuses more at patriotism and how war actually affects soldiers. ‘The Man He Killed’ looks past politics and the rules that we should hate our enemies, and shows them from a human perspective. Thomas Hardy’s poem which suggests that even though they’re fighting for the opposing country, they are still the same in some sense, can be backed up by the example of when in 1914 the English and German soldiers put down their guns and played football together. Hardy’s poem is a statement that people who actually fight in wars should not be fighting. As, in fact, if they were to meet in different circumstances they would have been friends. This is shown in the poem when it says ‘you’d shoot a fellow down... if you met where any bar is, you’d help to half a crown.’ This quote is saying how strange it is that you would kill a man, who in any other circumstances, you would probably get along with.
The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tennyson "The charge of the light brigade" by Tennyson was written about a
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
The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tennyson "The charge of the light brigade" by Tennyson was written about a
Both poems have a similar narrative style. They each tell a story. The poem "The Charge Of The Light Brigade" is part of the story about a historical battle. The battle of Balaclava 1854 was part of the Crimean War. The Allies made up of Great Britain, France, and Ottoman Empire were fighting against the Russian Empire. One of the Allies goals during the war was to take over the Russian naval base called
The themes of the two poems are portrayed in very distinctive ways. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ explains in a majestic approach, that fighting in war is something every soldier should honour. The poem is
The first verse of Charge Of The Light Brigade portrays the soldiers as strong, willing, noble men; ready to ride into “the valley of Death” whereas Dulce Et Decorum Est portrays the soldiers as struggling, exhausted and fatigued. Alfred Lord Tennyson illustrates the same idea of honour and nobility throughout his poem in contrast to Wilfred Owen’s poem which discusses fear and sorrow amongst other emotions.