“Bent doubles, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-need, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our back
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.”
The rhythm of the language changes according to what the soldiers are doing, there they are tired and finding it difficult to walk, their steps are slow and laboured like language. Owen is putting across that it is sweet and honourable to die for your country, but it is ironic, it is a very distressing place to stay and the horrific images are with you for life.
Owens theme of the poem is ironic as he is putting a message across to the reader “Dulce et Decorum est,” he wants to put forward that war has serious consequences. Owen shows us the suffering and heartache he went through in the war and how he would like everyone to see what it is like. However Tennyson shows the war to be a heroic event in which you are there for you country being loyal and obedient following the sergeant’s orders.
“Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do or die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.”
The soldiers would do anything and everything for their country even if it meant dying, they would do it. This shows bravery and determination of the British trying to kill the “Cossack and Russians.” Due to Tennyson not being at the Crimean War he was not fully able to visualise the imagery, negativity and feelings of all the soldiers. In order for him to explain the path of the soldiers he uses rhythm and repetition. “Rode the six hundred.” In each of the six stanzas ‘Rode the six hundred’ is repeated in a similar way. Tennyson shows the loss of the soldiers in the length of the stanzas. The first five stanzas are between seven to eleven lines long, but when it comes to stanza six it has been reduced between five to ten lines. This is due to the loss of soldiers throughout the war; Tennyson does not state exactly how many soldiers were lost but expresses this through the length of the stanzas.
However Owens poem is different as he explores all areas of the war as he had the images in front of him. Owen is able to give an individual perspective in great detail was he was there and he describes his friend as he wanted “the white eyes writhing in his face,” and saw “his face hanging of a cart, like a devil’s sick of sin,” “if you could hear, at every jolt, the blood came gargling from the froth corrupted lungs.” He describes this in great detail as he saw the blood pouring out of his mouth. This shows how horrific the images are and how he saw things face to face.
Owen is thoughtful and would have liked to help, but he was helpless.
“Dim through the misty panes and think green light
as under a green sea, I saw him drowning”
Seeing the horrific images in front of him is frightening, it helps us understand that the man is drowning in a fog of green misty gas. The gas is compared to the sea as if he was drowning in the misty green gas.
Tennyson is unable to show the images as clear and realistic as Owen, Tennyson describes the whole “six hundred” as “hero” and honourable soldiers, and Tennyson mixes what is really happening as he is unable to tell the real story full. Every one is thinking about how many soldiers will come back; Owen is able to show an idea of the number of soldiers returning as the length of stanzas decrease as he develops the poem as the soldiers die gradually but slowly through out the war. Owen and Tennyson are not able to say or show how the soldiers will feel but Owen is able to express that they are not happy were they are and it is not an idyllic place to be. Neither is able to say what has happened; but Owen tries to put across the right state of mind of the soldiers rather then making people believe they are heroes when they are fully not. The soldiers fought for their country with pride; “when will the glory fade?” how will they cope. Tennyson shows them as a group but is unable to show an individual perspective as it is written from an article. By writing from a group perspective he is able to glorify them all.
Overall Owen and Tennyson write in very different styles and with different perspectives to two different wars. Owens “Dulce et Decorum est” and Tennyson “The Charge of the Light Brigade” are both showing what happened in two different wars where you have a first person perspective and a 3rd persons perspective. Owen is trying to show that all young people may think it is a honour to die for your country, but it is also an horrific sight; Tennyson is trying to show that it is an honour and memorable to fight for your country. No one should be forced to fight in a war against his or her own will; war can cause a great deal of suffering and horrific consequences.
Owen wants to show the people what war is really like and would like to help people and stop them from dieing however Tennyson just wants the young lads to go and fight and be honourable for their country never the less wants them to help.
