A comparison of Tennyson's, 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est'.

A comparison of Tennyson’s, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’

and Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’.

In this essay I am going to discuss two poems, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’. I will analyse each poem in depth. From these two poems I will compare and contrast the differences between theme, language, form and tone. I will also discuss the similarities of the poems. This will enable me to draw up a conclusion showing the different attitudes towards war.

‘The charge of the Light Brigade’, was written during the Crimean war in the 1850’s. The Crimean war was in the Crimea in Russia. Tennyson wrote this poem after reading a press report which glorified war. The report uses emotive images and was patriotic. William Russell, the reporter, described the soldiers as angelic. He described them as ‘noble fellows’ and as them having ‘halo of steel above their heads’. Tennyson used the idea of the men being honourable and used a sense of patriotism. William Russell wrote the report in a very biased way. He wrote, ‘breaking through a column of Russians and scattering them like chaff’. This gave an impression to readers that the Russians were minute and weak and the British were strong and invincible. William Russell wrote in his press report, ‘a cheer which was many a noble fellow’s death cry’. This showed that even though the soldiers knew that they were going to die, they were determined to fight.

When Tennyson wrote ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, many people believed that they should be obedient and patriotic. They were unquestioning and obeyed all orders. These beliefs were seen as virtues, during the Victorian era. Tennyson saw no suffering. He was influenced by the view of others. The idea of his poem was to write a memorial to glorify those who had died.

There were many reasons to why ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was written. One of the main reasons it was written was to show that war was honourable. It was to support the ...

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There were many reasons to why ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was written. One of the main reasons it was written was to show that war was honourable. It was to support the British war effort. Furthermore it encouraged conscription in Britain. Many men thought that to fight in war was an achievement and it was righteous. It was also written to uphold the sacrifice of the dead soldiers.

On the other hand, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, was written for an entirely different reason. Wilfred Owen wrote this poem during World War 1. He wrote this poem as a consequence of first hand experience of human suffering. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the people were still loyal, honourable and had a sense of duty. However, Owen saw a great deal of suffering that led him to develop a moral view of war. This conflict is seen in the title of the poem. It suggested that war was in conflict with patriotism. The idea of Owen’s poem was a snapshot of war to frighten people. Owen was trying to show people the harsh reality of war.

‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, was written for a purpose. It was to break down the illusion of ‘heroic’ war. More importantly Owen wrote this poem to express his emotions. He had first hand information and went through the gruesome details of war. He also wrote this poem to support the public’s disillusionment with WW1. He wanted people to stop fighting in war and giving their lives away. Furthermore he wanted to show the real side to war. The agonising and terrifying time that soldiers went through.

The theme of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is to honour the soldiers doing their duty. Tennyson shows this by the soldiers