Compare And Contrast Two 1900 War Poems

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Fiona Whyte 10JWB

Compare And Contrast Two 1900 War Poems

People write poetry for many reasons.  War poetry is written mainly to express feelings.  War poems can achieve catharsis and are sometimes written in remembrance.  They express deep emotional states such as love, hate, suffering and joy.  War can amplify all of these feelings so it is likely that poetry would be written about it.

“The Charge Of The Light Brigade” was written by Alfred Tennyson as a memorial for the brave heroes which died during the battle against the Russians.  It is a pro-war poem:

“Honour the Light Brigade”

“The Battle Of Blenheim” is an anti-war poem. The view the poet wants to get across is spoken through the children, Peterkin and Wilhelmine.

“Why ‘twas a very wicked thing!”

I think the author made a mistake in choosing the children because children are not respected enough to speak an unpopular view and be taken seriously.  If he had chosen a character of higher status then the public would have paid more attention to his opinions.

Tennyson’s poem is very straight forward, using limited vocabulary.

“Cannon to the right of them,

Cannon to the left of them,

Cannon in front of them”

This makes it attractive to the people of the time, most of which would have been poorly educated.  It would appeal to more people than Robert Southey’s poem.  This is because Southey’s poem in my opinion, is too well written.  It is too clever for the audience to which it is directed at.

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Southey’s poem is much more complex.  It uses irony where Old Kasper refers constantly to the “great victory”  when the view the poet is giving is that it was far from “great.”  At first glance it seems a simple poem but after analysis the true meaning of the authors writing comes to light.  Certain metaphors projected through grotesque images show the disturbing understated themes of this piece.  There is juxtaposition of the incongruous imagery concerning the innocence of the pastoral setting and the grim skull and plough.

“He came to ask what he had found,

That was so ...

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