‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is a war poem that was written in remembrance of the ‘noble six hundred’ men who charged into a valley of Russian cannons and doing so suffered great losses. Tennyson described them charging ‘forward’ into danger, into the ‘valley of death’, knowing that they could all die. Tennyson’s poem talks about how all of the ‘noble six hundred men’ were skilled riders and ‘rode boldly and well’, and then in one of the stanzas there is a turning point as he says they were shattered and sundered, then rode back, but not the six hundred. He still does not focus on one death or blame anyone for the wrong order to charge, he explains how some of them never return, and then they rode back ‘but not the six hundred’. Tennyson’s poem is made up of six stanzas and is structured and made to represent the different stages of the charge. Stanzas one, two and three represent the opening of the battle. It shows the bravery and glory of the soldiers. Stanza four is the main point of the poem, with the tone changing quickly. The fifth and sixth stanzas are shorter than the others; they contrast to the first three stanzas by being very dull, reflecting upon the loss of many lives that were lost.
Stanza one is very upbeat and rhythmic. It describes of the opening of the battle. It uses repetition which creates a sense of galloping horses;
‘Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward’
Tennyson uses these first lines to place us straight into the battle. It sounds like the beat of a horse galloping. The energy of the opening is used to make us feel we are there. It uses repetition on the first two lines to emphasize what Tennyson is saying. With all the heat of the battle we get the impression that the men are working together as a team, like the heat off hard working men. Tennyson gives us the impression that the men are some kind of immortal super-humans but facing a certain death as they approach the ‘valley of death’, which suggests doom is awaiting for them. The phrase “Valley of Death” refers to an episode of John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress and to Psalm 23 from the New Testament of the Bible: in both of these sources, faith makes people brave when they are faced with death.
The imperatives used; ‘forward’ and ‘charge’, gives us the impression that whoever is in charge had complete control. They are commands to go ‘Forward’ and ‘Charge’ this shows they were confident and unafraid. At this point there was no question of retreat. We are not told who their commander ever was, and maybe that was a good thing otherwise there could have been some kind of havoc caused amongst the people of Britain.
Stanza 2
No sooner does the writer repeat the shouted command that sends the Light Brigade to their doom than the next line makes the reader wonder whether any of the soldiers were suffering with fear upon hearing the command. We closely associate the word “dismay” with a loss of courage. By raising this concern as a question and then answering that no, there was no fear, Tennyson gives the reader a brief pause to let the full scope of the soldiers’ bravery sink in.
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Despite the noble attitude these lines 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 stratergy, yet charged forward without fear anyway, somehow gives the poem a psychological depth that would be lost if it only celebrated the faithfulness of soldiers who were unaware of the defective command they were following.
The next lines are a mantra, they paraphrase the rules these soldiers live by. The style suggests the regimented, militaristic way the members of the Light Brigade think as they ride ahead, and the effect of the strong use of repetition is to drown out concerns about the blunder. “Theirs but to do and die” says that the soldiers are actually supposed to die ; but Tennyson makes it clear that this is the belief of the charging soldiers, for whom such a fate would be the ultimate expression of loyalty. At the end of this stanza the angle shifts from what the soldiers think of their duty to a view of the overall battle situation, again repeating the image of the “valley of Death.”
Stanza 3
The first three lines of this stanza are almost identical, altering only the position of the cannons, presenting the plan of the battlefield visually, instead of merely stating the fact that there were cannons everywhere. By repeating the phrase three times, the reader is not only given information about the tremendous odds against the Light Brigade, but the poem gives the feeling of being surrounded.
“Stormed” in extends the image of “thundered” from the line before it, making the barrage of cannon fire aimed at the cavalrymen appear almost like a force of nature. Following this Tennyson makes highlights that that the soldiers were brave, but also that they rode their horses well. The phrase that was used to end the first two stanzas is then extended : instead of the “Valley of Death,” he uses the metaphor “jaws of Death” and extends this metaphor with “mouth of hell.” Treating death as the same thing as hell, and making both as real as an animal’s attack, the poem heightens the ferociousness of death on the battlefield.
Stanza 4
The fourth stanza celebrates is a battle scene. They ride into the enemy, using their sabres against the enemies armed with cannons and pistols, and are able to break through the front line of defense. The pistols and rifles of the day would have been useless to the members of the Light Brigade because they needed reloading with a very intricate process that involved measuring gunpowder and pellets, which would have been impossible for a man on horseback. Sending a cavalry unit into the confined space of a valley against guns was so obviously hopeless, that it may be this, and not the brigade’s initial success, that is referred to when the line “all the world wondered” appears in the middle of a dramatic battle scene. The Light Brigade takes such full control of the situation that the Cossacks and Russians, find their defensive line in shreds (“shattered and sundered”) and have to retreat, while the six hundred continue to press forward bravely.
Stanza 5
The first five lines of this stanza dominate any optimism the reader may have gotten from the Light Brigade’s earlier success. By using the same words as were used in stanza 3 the poem takes the reader back to the same sense of hopelessness before the battle had started. The victory that was gained in the fourth stanza has made no difference in the overall scope of the battle. The first time these words were used though, they ended with a claim of the soldiers’ boldness and skill: this time, they end with the soldiers (referred to directly as “heroes”) being shot down. The path that the Light Brigade charged into (the jaws of death, the mouth of hell ) is mentioned again as the survivors make their escape. The survivors of this battle are also seen as heroes overcoming the power of death.
Stanza 6
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
The focus of the poem shifts in this stanza, from describing the battle scene to addressing the reader directly. In using the description “wild” to marvel at the charge, Line 51 implies that thoughtless bravery is to be admired in and of itself, regardless of concerns about strategy or success. Repeating the line “All the world wondered” in line 52 adds to the idea that what the soldiers have done goes beyond the average person’s comprehension: the soldiers are following rules that those who rely on intellect over loyalty might not understand. Although a close reading of the tone of this poem can leave little question about how we are meant to feel about these cavalrymen, the poem does not rely upon a reader’s understanding of the subtleties of tone, but directly tells the reader to honor these soldiers. That the poem is so straightforward about its intent is an indicator that it was written for a common, often uneducated, audience, to celebrate the actions of common soldiers who understood what they were being asked to do better than the blundering military strategists who planned the attack.
War poem Dulce ET Decorum Est.’ by Wilfred Owen
Another poem we studied was ‘Dulce ET Decorum Est.’ by Wilfred Owen. This poem is completely different to the poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ as it contradicts the attitudes shown in Tennyson’s poem. By the end of Owens poem, he gets his attitude across to the reader by using dramatic words to give off a negative image of war. This compares to Tennyson’s positive attitude about war and how brave and noble the soldiers were. Owens view is reflected in the title by being very sarcastic using the words ‘Dulce ET Decorum Est.’. This title is written in Latin and translates to ‘It is sweet and fitting’. The main difference between the two poets is that Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the war whereas Tennyson is just giving his viewpoint. This shows that Owen knows much more about how horrific it is in the war and has much more experience.
Owen wrote about his experience of World War 1, whilst he was in hospital in 1917 being treated for shell shock whilst in hospital he met his all time hero Siegfried Sassoon, who gave him inspiration and a new view point on the Great War. Owen witnessed and was unable to intervening as a fellow colleague drowns on his fluids during a mustard bomb. Owen describes how the army treated the dead by throwing them on a truck with no respect or dignity for their fallen comrades. The poet unlike Tennyson describes these things in such detail whereas Tennyson describes the dead as the heroic fallen. After being treated in such hospital he returned to war and unfortunately died in France just one week before the Great War ended. We compared Dulce Et Decorum Est. to the charge of the light brigade written on the Crimean war by Alfred Lord Tennyson unlike Owen, Tennyson didn’t
‘Dulce Et Decorum Est.’ is set during the 1st world war. In this poem, Owen focuses on the part of the war when the soldiers are in the trenches and he gives off a bad impression about war. Owen does this by describing the horrific injuries that were suffered in the war. Wilfred Owen wrote this poem in 1917 after being treated in hospital for shell-shock that he suffered in the war. Whilst in hospital, Owen met his childhood hero, another famous poet, Siegfried Sassoon who influenced him in poetry and political views. Owen then learnt from Sassoon that war is not about being brave and noble and protecting your country, it is only about having power over other countries and taking them over. When Owen was 22, he joined the army voluntary as a first. He thought the war was being fought for a good cause at first, but was told by Sassoon that it was for power however Wilfred Owen returned to war and received a military cross for his bravery. Wilfred Owen died 1918 aged just 25 in France.
In stanza one Owen describes the soldiers as the return to base tattered and exhausted after days in the trenches despite being young strong men they are bent double as if they are old men carrying all their equipment. The words describe the soldiers using a simile ‘like old beggars’ which gives the poem a slow, dull start to the poem unlike Tennyson who plunges the reader into action by using a chant ‘half league’ which gives plenty..Beggars under sacks’ this phrase suggests that soldiers are old and they are carrying there huge rucksacks away from battle. Later on in stanza one Owen quotes ‘knock Kneed’ this phrase suggests that the soldiers are crumbling under so much pressure by their sacks and there trench foot can’t hold it so the weight goes onto their knees. After this Owen states ‘men marched asleep’ ‘many had lost their boots’ this phrase suggests that the soldiers were so tired and exhausted that they were almost asleep even though they are still moving to prove that they were so tired most of them didn’t notice that they have lost their boots.
Also after this Owen quotes ‘But limped on’ this phrase suggests that the soldiers were still under insane stress from the weight onto their feet and knees also many soldiers had trench foot so it was much worse for these soldier didn’t have any footwear so it made it even harder for the soldiers to walk.
Stanza two is an irregular stanza compared with the first one as it is shorter along with high tempo in the company of panic as the bomb drop behind them. Owen uses capital letters to emphasis the alarm of the soldiers the ‘gas’ spreads behind them. Owen describes of the scene as he and his men are in ‘ecstasy’ because they’re happy to the point of madness, Owen also portrays an of the soldiers ‘fumbling’ as the men focus on one objective, getting the mask on and protecting themselves from choking before its too late. The ‘clumsy’ suggests the helmets are put on with a struggle its like
The third stanza is the shortest in the entire poem as it only consists on 2 lines, the first line talks about ‘in all my dreams’ Owen expresses that of all the dreams he has had, the worst is real and Owen feels helpless as he watches as a member of his unit
‘In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.’
In stanza four, Owen describes what happened to the person he saw being being choked by a poisonous gas. He homes in on one person to have further impact upon the reader, pumping up the drama. Tennyson does not focus on one person, but the division as a whole. Owen explains the fatal damage the gas does to the body – ‘white eyes writhing in his face’ and ‘incurable sores on innocent tongues’. It speaks of Owen’s belief that the soldiers were innocent to the attack.
‘His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin’
The writer invites us to be drawn in on a personal level and experience it inch by inch, watching and listening to the proceedings of that day. He connects war with hell, as did Tennyson. However, whilst Tennyson said the men were a noble and heroic , the mood surrounding the deaths in ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ is much more grave and heinous.
In the final stanza, Owen draws in Jessie Pope, the poetess who wrote ‘Whose for the game?’ with political persuasions encouraging men to join the army, as a ‘friend’ and Owen implies that if she knew the truth of the attrocities of war, she would not persuade young men to sign up to the army, leading them to somehow see that war was a ‘fun adventure’. Owen was furious with Pope for giving a forged likeness of war to men.
Conclusion
During the analysis of the two war poems, I have learnt that poetry can highlight on the same topic, but have very different angles and can contrast significantly to one another. This is because of the standpoint of the writers, in this instant their beliefs, experiences or naivety. War is not the glory trip as Tennyson so idealistically made it out to be, it is simply the courage of many men and women who bravely defend and represent the country. The reality of war is horrific for those that take part and can bear many scars, not only in the physical sense. Like many writers who are educated and not a soldier themselves the only glory exists in a false way in their way of manipulating and articulating the image of war to the masses.