Tennyson describes the valiant charge of the light brigade into the “jaws of death.” He makes use of repetition, allusion, and personification to paint a vivid picture of the charge, and, at the same time, he gives the reader a glimpse into the psyche of the valiant soldiers.
“All the world wondered” why they could ride so boldly to their death.
The beginning lines of the poem throw the reader into the center of action, with a rousing chant that drives the reader, both in its description and in its galloping rhythm, toward the battle. A "league" is approximately three miles long: charging horses could cover half a league in a few minutes. "Charge for the guns!" This heightens the sense of the danger of the charge, while leaving unstated the reason for charging into the blaring gunfire.
In the first stanza he also begins the repetition of “rode the six hundred,” a phrase which emphasizes the small number of valiant soldiers riding against the “mouth of hell” itself. Tennyson also includes the first reference to the “valley of Death” in the first stanza. This reference is continued throughout the poem
Line 11 and line 12 tell the reader without question that every member of the Brigade knew that this order was a mistake. This contradiction the fact that the soldiers knew they were likely to die because of a "blunder" in military strategy, yet charged forward without fear anyway , gives the poem a psychological depth that would be lost if it merely celebrated the loyalty of soldiers who were unaware of the faulty command they were following.
In ‘’Dulce ET Decorum Est’’ Wilfred uses the word “We”; which shows that he was in the war. We know that he has experienced the war; he knows the agony and the irony of being in the war. He uses word such as: Lame, blind, deaf, fatigue this such word are hideous. In the second stanza Owen is describing a gas attack on the soldiers as they are trudging
back to camp. Owen describes the soldiers fumbling to get their mask fastened, all but one, a
lone soldier. He is struggling to get his mask on but doesn’t get it fastened quick enough and
suffers from the full effects of deadly gas:
”Gas! Gas! Quick boys!-An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.”
The way Owen describes a comrade watching as a lone soldier is struggling to get his mask
fastened awakens the minds of the readers to see the psychological effect that this had on the
soldiers. Making the reader see that war is cruel and unjust “Gas! Gas! Quick, boys”. This direct speech not only makes the poems more exciting, as the two lines express action, but it also adds a touch of realism and immediacy. Wilfred Owen makes his poem more realistic by using the senses to aid his descriptions. He includes the sounds of gas shells dropping, and of “The blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs”. He then gives an impression of the awful taste of this blood; “Bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues”. This descriptive use of senses makes the poem shockingly realistic, and also very vivid.
The structure of ‘’the charge of the light brigade’’ are made of six verses.
The first stanza “we follow the half league”, into “the valley of death”. Three, four and five takes us into the valley.
“Canon to the left of them ,canon to the right of them ,canon infront of the’ “third Stanza”.
On the “fourth stanza” volleyed at with shot and shell’ showing the full impact of being in the valley and bombarded with canon shells and bullets.
“Canon to the left of them canon to the right of them, canon behind them’”fifth stanza” the light brigade are retreating from the valley of death. The mixed tone in the poem, each stanza flows with an excited urgency which is suddenley changed into a slow sombre tone in the last two line. Mixed tone could reflect the peots mixed feelings. On one hand it’s a pointless waste of life: on the other it’s a celebration of bravery.
In “Dulce Et Decorum Est” it shows the brutalty and the agony of being in a war rather then “The Charge Of the Light Brigade”, which is honouring the soldier who died in the Crimean war. “In all my dreams before my helpless sight He plunges at me, guttering, chocking, drowning.” Owen is describing how he personally felt when he saw a soldier suffering infront of him and there was nothing he could do to help him other than watch, while tennyson is describing “ rode the six hundred”, “Forward the light brigade!” how brave and bold the soldier were, they rode into the light brigade knowingley the riding to their death.
“honour the light brigade, honour the charge they made, noble six hundred” tennyson ends his poem in the final stanza by honouring the soldier and telling how noble they were. He is telling us to honour the soldier to hounour the light brigade.
“Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-- My friend, you would not tell with such high zest, To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.””
Its good and fitting to die for your nation. Owen ends the poem by telling us that its not an honour to die for your nation by saying the old lie: dulce et decorum est.
