Tennyson’s poem was written quickly and it is felt in the pace. He uses rhythm in his poem, which is one of the horse’s charging hooves. He does this because the soldiers are said to have ridden bravely into battle, and that they were part of a strong unit. He focuses on the glory of war, and he portrays an image of the “Brave” and “heroic” Light Brigade charging in to battle.
Tennyson also uses enjambment in some lines, mainly in direct speech. He does this primarily to give the past paced poem a flow to it.
Tennyson uses blank verse in nearly all of his stanzas, but occasionally he uses rhyme. He uses the adjectives “The noble six hundred” at the end of the sixth stanza to describe the soldiers; he also makes slight adjustments to the words to show the change in the soldier’s position. “ Rode the six hundred.” “ Left of six hundred.”
He also uses other adjectives to describe the soldiers and how “ boldly they rode and well.”
Tennyson states how there was “ Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them.” Tennyson uses repetition here to show how the English were surrounded by the Russian cannons, and how the General had “Blundered,” and had sent the soldiers straight into the “Jaws of Death.” He also uses personification here to create on image of the English charging into the jaws of a huge beast, standing no chance against it.
Tennyson uses alliteration to create on image of the soldiers being “ Stormed at with shot and shell,” but still they kept riding. Tennyson uses Emotive language to bring out a feeling on Empathy, and sympathy, but also a feeling of pride. “ While horse and hero fell.”
Tennyson uses this language to bring out an overall feeling of National pride, and to “ honour the Light Brigade”. He glorifies the battle to draw people away from the thought of it being a disaster, to it being one of Bravery.
On the other hand Kipling uses rhyming couplets in his poem. He also uses rhythm, which is loose and relaxed, and sounds almost like a nursery rhyme. Although the rhythm is easy, the theme is shocking and horrific. His poem is relaxed, and not rigid like Tennyson’s because he has nothing to praise and glorify. What is contained in Kipling’s poem is sad, and is the result of his anger towards the disloyalty the English showed to the “ Poor little army…limping and lean and forlorn.”
Kipling also uses enjambment for direct speech “ Let us go to the man who writes the thing…” Although Kipling’s poem is fiction, because the troops never went to confront “ The master singer” about why he had turned them into something they weren’t. Kipling does try to make the poem personal, by putting in the speech of the soldiers, and what they would have said if they had gone to Tennyson.
Like Tennyson, Kipling uses numbers in his poem, but unlike Tennyson, Kipling uses them like statistics to prove his point. Kipling is reporting the difference in numbers between the “ Thirty million English” and the “ twenty broken troopers.” He is comparing the millions of English who “ talk of England’s might,” to those soldiers who have become victims of society. Kipling also uses comparisons between sharpness of their swords and the sharpness of poverty “ Keen were the Russian sabres, but want was keener than they.”
Kipling uses alliteration and repetition to get his point across. In the first stanza of his poem “ thirty million Englishmen talk of England’s might,” because they were all so sure of what they were talking about, but after they realise they have disloyal they “ Babble of England’s might.”
When Kipling is describing the soldiers he portrays them using alliteration, as being “Shiftless soldiers.” He describes them like this because they are old and are no longer the brave, heroes that Tennyson once made out. Kipling also states how they “ Went without band or colour, a regiment ten file strong.” He wrote this to reinforce the fact that they no longer have the clean, shining uniforms, and are no longer the courageous people they once were.
Kipling uses quotations to mock the heroism Tennyson speaks of. “An’ it’s all come true what you wrote, sir, regardin’ the mouth of hell.” Kipling changes the meaning of these words in his poem, and where Tennyson uses them to illustrate the Russians position, Kipling uses them to describe the lives of the soldiers now, and how they are living in hell now. “ For we’re all of us nigh to the workhouse.”
Although both poems are very different, there are similarities between them. Both Tennyson and Kipling talk of the same “ Light Brigade” who fought in the battle of Balaclava. They may have written their poems about the same soldiers, but wrote them for very different reasons. Tennyson wrote his poem just after the battle had ended, and his aim was to lift the hearts of the English people after the battle had been lost. Kipling however, who wrote his poem much later, saw how the soldiers had become victims of the publics neglect, and aimed for the English people to be “ Scourged with a thing called shame.”
Tennyson wrote his poem out of pride, which can be proven with evidence from the text. “Honour the charge they made,” but Kipling’s poem was produced out of anger at the English people, and Tennyson “ And though they were dying of famine, they lived in deathless song.”
They both use structure in their poems, and use strong repetition to reinforce points. “The six hundred” “Thirty million English”
Although Tennyson and Kipling both use rhythm and rhyme, Tennyson uses a fast pace rhythm, almost like the galloping of horses hooves, whereas Kipling uses a slower paced rhythm, like a nursery rhyme. Kipling’s poem may have the rhythm of a nursery rhyme, but the theme is horrific. “
Tennyson only uses rhyme in a few stanzas and it isn’t regular, but on the other hand Kipling uses rhyming couplets. Both use alliteration in they poem to describe the soldiers “Shiftless soldiers” “Stormed at with shot and shell”, but Tennyson uses emotive language in his poem to build a feeling of pride, and heroism. Kipling only wants to shame the English people for their lack of fidelity towards the soldiers.
In conclusion I personally find Kipling’s poem more effective. I find this because although Tennyson tries to make people feel a sense of national pride, the battle took place because of an error, and they the English people were massacred. They were brave because they knew they were committing suicide, but they went anyway. This makes them very brave, and quite foolish, but not heroes.
On the other hand, Kipling is angry, and disgusted with the English people’s fake loyalty because they only needed the soldier when they were fighting, now the battle is over they are just get in the way. Kipling sheds a reality on the lives of the soldiers now, but sets his poem out like a story, which is very clever.
Kipling only wanted justice to be served, and for the English to see how they had treated their “Heroes.”