A Comparison of Two Poems: Dulce et Decorum est and Charge of the Light Brigade.

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Dulce et Decorum est and Charge of the Light Brigade

03/05/07

A Comparison of Two Poems: Dulce et Decorum est and Charge of the Light Brigade

In this essay I will be comparing two war poems. The poems, Dulce et Decorum est, by Wilfred Owen and Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord-Tennyson came from different generations; Owen’s is written from his own experiences during the first world war; Lord-Tennysons poem was written from the safety of his own home during the Crimean war. The only real similarity between the two poems is that they were both written about the battlefield. Owen’s poem is a heartfelt plea against military propaganda, while Tennyson’s poem is propaganda.

To understand these poems more, we must look at the poet’s lives:

  • Wilfred Owen led a rather comfortable life as a tutor until he enlisted in October 1915. Owen was an Officer in the 2nd Artists Rifles Officers Training Corps and was recommended for the Military Cross. Probably one of Owens most poignant memories of the war was the subject if this poem, the death of a fellow soldier and friend in a brutal mustard gas attack. On November 4th 1918, Owen tragically died in a German Machine gun attack, just seven days before the armistice. His parents received the news of his death on November 11th, while the bells were ringing out the end of the war.  

  • Alfred “Eccentric” Lord-Tennyson began writing at the age of 8 and had written most of a blank verse play by the age of 14. Tennyson became the poet laureate in 1850 and finally accepted a baronetcy and became Lord-Tennyson in 1884, after numerous offers. Being the poet laureate he was expected to write about the Crimean war, and he did. The result of this is Charge of the Light Brigade, a poem full of propaganda and the glory of death. Tennyson never actually saw any of the war, but wrote the poem from the comfort of his home. He died in1892 of Gout surrounded by his family.
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Just from looking at the authors of these poems we can see how and why these poems differ.

The first real difference is that Owen writes directly about what he sees. In Dulce et Decorum est  there are no charges or heroics, just the reality of human suffering and the truth about war. To convey the suffering of these men Owen uses good effective imagery in his poem:

“Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge”.

These few lines set up the poem for ...

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