Stanza 2 is faster, you can tell this by the first line “Gas! Gas! Quick boys!” This is contrasts to stanza, also notice that
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Owen says boys, not men, this is saying that most of them were young not men yet. When the gas does come the soldiers panic, but are to tied to do anything. There is the realism of imminent death because the “Gas” is in capital. Owen describes what it is like to be the solider inside the gas mask, he does this by not acutely describing it but he does this in an obscure way “Dim through the misty panes and thick green light.” This is how Owen describes the gas around the soldier’s gas masks. His friend is suffocating from the gas in front of him but all he can do is watch from the tiredness. There is also a supernatural feel.
Stanza 3 he says “In all my dreams before my helpless sight” this is saying that he feels like he’s in a recurring nightmare and all he can do is watch while his friend dies. This stanza is only two lines but they are very powerful. “He plunges at me, guttering, choking, and drowning.” This one line id very strong and is slow, because it is slow it really gets you interested and wanting to read on, also it makes you feel sorry for the person dying.
In the final stanza, the first line immediately brings you, the reader, in. Owen does this by saying “If in some smothering dreams you too could pace.” Owen describes a wagon, which is a wagon coming to take the wounded away. He says that “he watched his friends white eyes withering in his face” this is from the panic from when he died from the gas. This line is also alteration. Owen explains that the gas is so disusing that the devil himself would turn his back on it, although he doesn’t say it the reader would get the message Owen is trying to get across. He describes diseases that everyone could relate to, Owen does this to show the agony and suffering of war “Bitter as the cud” Owen is relating to the disease cancer, just like gas cancer infects the body and spreads. “My friend” is used in line 9 of stanza 4 to bring the reader into the poem and keeps you interested. The last two lines say “The old lie: Dulce Et Decorum est Pro patria mori.” This translated to “it is sweet and fitting to lay down ones life for your country, you’re not fighting for your country you lying for it!” I think that this is a very
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powerful line. Overall Owen aimed this poem at politicians. Owens not saying don’t fight for your country just to make sure you know the consequences, death.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born at Somersby Lincolnshine. He was educated by his father, a rector in the Church of England, and at the Trinity College, Cambridge. He married Emily Sellwood in 1850 in which year he also became a poet laureate. He settled on the Isle of Wight with his wife and their son, Hallam. Queen Victoria greatly enjoyed his poetry. He was extremely popular during his lifetime; he was made a Baron in 1884 and is the only English poet to have been ennobled purely for poetry. In Tennyson’s poem he wasn’t actually there at the battle but Owen was, Tennyson only read about it he didn’t experience the battle.
“The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a heroic poem; it’s about a cavalry charge which goes wrong. There are short lines in the poem about 6 words a line; this creates a speed which relates to the charge. The first stanza starts of with “Half a league, half a league” this is a distance, mile. The soldiers move in to, “a valley of Death” Tennyson describes it as, this must have been horrible charging into a valley were death was surrounding it. There is repetition on this line, Tennyson does this because he wants to get this point across of the valley, and also it makes it stick in your mind.
Stanza 2 sees the mistake of the wrong valley. They are all confused and start asking questions Tennyson wrote “Theirs but to do or die” this is saying not to ask questions but just to do it! The last line is “Rode the six hundred” this is repetition from the last line of stanza 1.
Stanza 3 there is some more repetitions, the first three lines have “cannon” as there first word. He tells us that the soldiers were trapped in this valley, it was an ambush, cannons started firing at them. The soldiers were “bold” which means brave, they rode into the valley with there heads held high. Tennyson describes the valley as the jaws of death, this also emphasis
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there bravery. Also at the end of this stanza there is the repetition of “Rode the six hundred.”
At the beginning of stanza 4 again there is repetition “flash’d.” This is the stanza were the battle starts, “sabring” Tennyson uses, it means chopping down. There’s is some alliteration in this stanza “world wonder’d.” “Plunged in the battery-smoke” this is the smoke from the cannons. Tennyson uses the word “Reel’d” this means horsemanship, Tennyson used this to emphasis the bravery of these soldiers riding straight into these cannons. They retreat because they were “shatter’d” and “shunder’d.” Tennyson then uses the line “not the six hundred” he used this because at the end of all the other stanza’s he says “rode the six hundred.”
Stanza 5 it the battle continuing we read the repetition again of “cannon” on the first three lines. Sixth line of stanza 5 sees alliteration “horse and hero fell,” this is also tells the reader that there is a close relationship between man and beast. “Jaws of death” is used again saying that all that was left of the six hundred rode back from it.
Stanza 6 is the last stanza and closes the poem. This stanza emphasises their loss. Tennyson is trying to make the reader feel sorry for the soldiers hat charged, he does this by saying “Honour the charge they made! Honour the light brigade Noble six hundred.” This also gets the point across about their bravery.
Overall the two poems might be about war but the give two completely different views on it. Owens is giving a first person story of the trenches of World War 1, the gas and his friend dieing. Tennyson’s is a heroic poem; however, he was not there so some of the information could be inaccurate.
By Chris. Nelmes
