Half a league onward,
All in the valley of death
Rode the six hundred’
(Stanza one - THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
Rhythm has been used in the above verses. This is in order to stress the words, to give a deeper meaning. It tells the reader in these verses that the English are very calm and brave. It also shows their nobility and superiority. Calmness and bravery can be seen by the word ‘rode’. It denotes that they are really calmly travelling to somewhere they might die. As they are calm, it shows that they are brave since they don’t panic. Tennyson has picked out the word ‘rode’ as he admires the English. He wouldn’t of used a different word, which denotes that they are scared, as it would give a bad impression of the English. This is what Tennyson wouldn’t want. ‘All in the valley of death’ is a line from a Christian prayer. As Tennyson has included this line, it gives an impression that Tennyson believes that, God is on their side and not on the Russians.
‘ O banner of Britain’
(Stanza one – THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
This quote is a comparison of the verses from “THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE”. The banner illustrates that the soldiers are calm and steadfast. Tennyson had used the expression to show that the British are very calm, even though they are about to face an army of 6000 trained rebel soldiers. Tennyson wants to acquire the reader’s sympathy from the opening of the poem, and wants to make the reader think that the soldiers are really brave.
‘Women and children among us, God help them, our children and wives!’
(Stanza two- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
It has an exclamation mark at the end, as Tennyson wants to make this stand out and appeal to everyone. The verse tells the reader that the English believe, that God is on their side because they are helping the people. It points out that Tennyson feels that the English are better than everyone else in this poem, and this can be seen throughout the poem.
Tennyson has used this way of getting the reader to think that the soldiers are brave and calm. He has used the same technique, in both poems right from the start.
‘Theirs not to make reply
Theirs not to reason why
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of death
Rode the six hundred’
(Stanza two- THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
Tennyson has included rhythm in the above verses, so that it will make the reader admire the English, as it would sound better and stick to the reader as well as illustrate steadfastness, courage and loyalty of the English. The above verses tell us that the English always did as they were told; they never asked questions about their duties, because they went there to fight due to the loyalty of the flag.
‘Voice of the dead whom we loved, our Lawrence the best of the brave:
Cold were his brows when we kissed him- we laid him that night in his grave.’
(Stanza two- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
The two verses above show that the English highly admired Lawrence and honoured him as well as showing the English loyalty, as it is said that they went and kissed him although he was dead. It can be seen Tennyson wants to gain sympathy for Lawrence as well as the English and also wants to achieve a high status for them in the view of the readers.
Racism and arrogance are two themes, which can be distinguished straightforwardly when there is a look for contrast between the two poems.
‘Every man die at his post- and the foe may outlive us at last-
Better to fall by the hands that they love, than to fall into theirs!’
(Stanza four- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
The verses above represent the distinguish ness wanted by the English from the Indians as in the verses it conveys to the reader that it is better to get killed by your own loved families, than the Indians. This is a sort of comment made by an arrogant person, causing me to believe that Tennyson is arrogant.
‘Thanks to the kindly dark faces who fought with us, faithful and few,’
(Stanza five- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
‘Praise to our Indian brothers, and let the dark face have his due!’
(Stanza five- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
In the above verses Tennyson has referred to the Indians as ‘dark face/s’, which gives the impression that Tennyson is racist. Tennyson had to resort to calling them dark faced, as he wanted to keep the English superior to the Indians.
In “THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW”, the English are being attacked whereas in “THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE”, they are attacking the enemy. This can be seen in the poems:
‘Charging an army, while
all the world wondered:’
(Stanza four- THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
‘Frail were the works that defended the hold we held with our lives’
(Stanza five- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
In “THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW”, it can be seen that the English are trying to hold off the Indians for as long as possible, but it is extremely hard as they are being attacked from all angles:
‘Fire from ten thousand at once of the rebels that girdled us round’
(Stanza two- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
In “THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE”, they were really brave and started their charge:
‘Forward the Light Brigade!’
(Stanza two- THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
But someone had mistaken their orders, and ended up being shot from all angles:
‘Stormed at with shot and shell’
(Stanza three- THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
In “THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE”, it describes how the English fought. The verses below convey to the reader that the English are ready for battle and that they are ready for battle. The verses also illustrate that the English have a high level of soldiery and are fighting fiercely:
‘Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air’
(Stanza four- THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
Nevertheless in “THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW”, it does not describe how the battle commended; rather it describes what they did to hold onto the fort and how difficult it was:
‘Death in our innermost chamber’
(Stanza two- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
This verse reveals to the reader that death was absolutely everywhere and that there was no place for them to survive.
In “THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW”, the English had won the battle as can be seen:
‘“Hold it for fifteen days!” we have held it for eighty-seven!
And ever aloft on the, palace roof the old banner of England blew.’
(Stanza seven- THE DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW)
However in “THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE”, the English had lost their battle. This can be seen as they left the battle, because most of their men were dead:
‘All that was left of them,
Left of the six hundred.’
(Stanza five- THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE)
I believe Tennyson has achieved his goal of making the reader show respect for the English as it has gained my respect for them. This is because he had described the hardships the English faced in both the poems, which will make the reader feel sympathetic towards the English, as well as using many poetry techniques, which will persuade the reader to agree with what he conveys to the reader. Also Tennyson had written in a pro English view and had just described the work of the English and not of the oppositions, which added to the conveying to the reader.
In each of the poems, certain styles have been used to get across Tennyson’s message of that people should praise and glorify the English as well as admire their work. I feel that the work of Tennyson has been incredible as the ways he has laid out his work and managed to convince myself to support Tennyson’s message. As I had been convinced to the messages of Tennyson, it makes me feel as if Tennyson will convey his messages to the other readers.
I think that Tennyson has included points in the poems, which weren’t necessary to gain the readers support. One point is the racist remarks that Tennyson had included in “The Defence Of Lucknow”, which I believe are absolutely inappropriate, as it isn’t the sort of strategy someone would use if they were wanting to gain readers sympathy and respect for the British, in my opinion.
BY SAMIUR RAHMAN BY10