Wilfred Owen makes his poem more realistic by using the senses to aid his descriptions. He includes the sound of gas shells dropping, and of “the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs which shows the physical reality of the burnt out lungs. He then gives an impression of the awful taste of this blood: “bitter as cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues”. This descriptive use of senses makes the poem shockingly realistic, and also very vivid. The use of the Latin in Owen’s poem also makes it more convincing. He writes “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori”. Translated this means “sweet and meet it is to die for one’s country”. The use of Latin is very respectable and unobtrusive, which is a sharp contrast to the other words and images in the poem. It shows Owen’s intelligence and education, thus making him more credible and believable. The phrase was originally written by the Roman poet Horace. It was often inscribed on stones or boards commemorating those who had died in war. It is an attempt to make the truth about dying as a soldier somehow acceptable, even noble thing. The fact that it is an educated foreign language is intended to help it carry more authority; to make it seem more legitimate to ask young men to throw away their lives in a war started by other people but here Owen uses it to have the opposite effect. The phrase is also splits over two lines suggesting the broken nature of what it is saying. To emphasis the point that this is a lie Owen writes the word “Lie” in the “old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est” with a capital “L”.
Tennyson does not use senses, but he attempts to make his poem realistic by showing elements of discipline. Tennyson writes: “Their’s not to make reply, Their’s not to reason why, Their’s but to do and die…” This discipline brings the poem to a sensible down-to-earth level, making it more feasible and convincing. However, at the same time, it implies that the soldiers are very heroic, as they are prepared to die.
Both poems contain various images to make them more vivid. The moods of these images (which really determine the moods of the poems as a whole) are very different to each poem.
“Dulce et Decorum est” uses very shocking images, which creates a very intimidating, and often sickening mood. The first verse shows the awful conditions in the trenches. Owen has used words with heavy, low sounds such as the B's and D's of "Bent double, like old beggars". He continues to use phrases such as "coughing like hags"; all these sounds and similes make the men from the front line sounds old and decrepit, when ironically they are full of youth. The first simile Owen uses is “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks” this is totally unexpected, as an army is supposed to be smart and well dressed. I see that the soldiers are badly equipped, as: “Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod” this is also very astonishing. The metaphor ‘blood-shod’ echoes ‘blood-shot’, but tells us their feet are covered in blood. ‘Shod’ is the same as ‘shoed’; it is as though they re wearing blood, not boots. Above all they have become old people. The metaphor ‘cursed through sludge’ suggests that only the violence of their language drives them forward. I begin to imagine the pain and discomfort the soldiers had to put up with, in addition to the fear of death. I am also given an insight into the appalling conditions in the trenches. Soldiers were “knock-kneed, coughing like hags…” and “all went lame; all blind…” this shows that it affected everyone. In the second verse, colour is used to make the scene more vivid, and also more exciting. The “green sea” is referring to the green colour of the chlorine gas. The colour green is often related to ghost films, giving the scene a haunting, threatening feel. The third verse begins by describing a soldier who has been gassed. When portraying the soldiers “hanging face”. Owen compares it to a “devil’s sick of sin…” This simile has the impact of suggesting that the soldier was in so much agony, that the expression on his face is totally unimaginable. This is absolutely horrifying that someone could be in so much anguish, and yet still alive and suffering. Owen then goes on to use the simile: “obscene as cancer…” He uses “cancer” to depict the blood the soldier is coughing up because at the time, and still today, people’s knowledge of cancer was very limited, and they really only knew that people died from it. This is mirrored in the fact that people know little about the atrocities and horrors of war and death. Owen also uses many single words to jolt his readers and to express his feelings. He uses immensely powerful and sickening words to represent the soldier who has been gassed. “he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” These words are not only disgusting, but are onomatopoeic. They sound like someone trying to breathe, but choking. The image of the man “drowning” is ironic. Normally a man would not drawn in air – quite the opposite. But here, because other men have perverted nature by poisoning the air, it has the same effect as if it was a liquid. When describing the effects of war on him, he writes: “if in some smothering dream…” This implies that there is no way out of the terrible situation and the atrocious conditions and that it affects every aspect of soldiers’ lives in trenches. By saying they “flung” the dying man in the wagon, it shows even the dying and injured are not treated kindly or gently. They are dehumanised and even in their death not awarded dignity. Owen writes about the “white eyes writhing in his face…” This ghastly image gives an impression of how close the man is to death, and by using the word “writhing”, Owen conveys the man’s agony and distress. Owen also writes about “vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues…” This contains two powerful words. “Incurable” implies that wounds and effect of war last forever, and plague generation after generation, and “innocent” is showing that young people went to war without knowing really what they were walking into”. Other words which indicate pain and create terrible pictures are: “cursed”, “haunting”, “fatigue”, “deaf”, “clumsy”, “yelling”, “stumbling”, “floundering”, “helpless”, “plunges” and “gargling”. These words are neither majestic nor euphemistic but shockingly realistic.
The images created in “Charge of the Light Brigade” are very majestic and noble. The mood is very glorious, heroic and happy. The first image created is the “valley of Death”. Interestingly enough, “Death” has a capital “D”. I believe this is because Tennyson is personifying “Death” and he assumes a human form such as the “grim reaper”. If this is the case, not only does it imply that the soldiers will die a quick painless, death when they enter the valley, at the hands of “Death”, but also, with “Death” being a person, he can only seize one person at a time, so many of the soldiers will survive. On top of this, this image makes the poem more exciting. These same features indicated by “the jaws of Death” and “the mouth of Hell”. What makes this heroic and gallant is that the soldiers rode boldly into “the valley of Death”, and many of them also came out unscathed. It is as if they were cheating or outrunning “Death”. A heroic scene is also formed when the general says, “Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!” This conjures images of heroes on horsebacks, charging fearlessly towards guns, when they know they might be killed. These elements of fearlessness and danger add thrill and romance to the poem. It would appeal to a young person, and perhaps encourage them to join the army. The way the soldiers carry on towards the guns when they know of the danger also seems courageous and daring. This is emphasised by phrases such as “Boldly they rode and well…” Verse four is full of excitement and bravery. Colour is used when the soldiers “flashed their sabres bare…” This gives the impression of a very well equipped, smart, clean and extraordinary army – a contrast to the soldiers in Owen’s poem. The verse tries to convey the power and might of the Light Brigade. The soldiers “Flashed as they turned in air…” This suggests that they were so powerful and energetic that they were almost flying. The verse also points to a clean, easy victory for the mighty Light Brigade, “Charging an army, while All the world wondered... Right thro’ the line they broke...” By reminding the reader that the Light Brigade charged at a whole army, and broke right through their lines, it makes it more audacious and brave, than reckless, as they succeeded. They are further made heroes by the fact that they killed the hated enemy “Cossack and Russian Reeled from the sabre stroke...” Tennyson does not show the pain of the people killed, the blood and the pain and agony both the enemy and the Light Brigade died in. He describes a very clean, efficient annihilation of the enemy, which, according to Owen, is very unrealistic. A heroic, gallant image is created as the Light Brigade “Plunged in the battery-smoke...” This is more reminiscent of a film, than of real life conflict. The enemy are made to sound more evil and unchivalrous as, not only do they fire at the Light Brigade when they are charging, but also as the Light Brigade are, as it appears, calmly retreating. Tennyson directly describes the soldiers as “heroes”: “While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well...” This makes me sympathise with the soldier that he should die after staunchly fighting the enemy. Instead of making war sound terrible, it turns the dead soldier into a martyr. The rhetorical question is used twice in this poem. It makes the reader think, and therefore imposes the writer’s opinion on his audience. “Was there a man dismayed?” is the first use of the rhetorical question. It implies that the soldiers were not scared of the guns, once again, giving them a bold, valiant image. The second rhetorical question is “When can their glory fade?” This indicates that they will always be heroes, and that their charge was brave and romantic. Tennyson uses words such as: “boldly”, “forward”, “charge”, “flashed”, “sabring”, “shattered”, “sundered”, “stormed”, “hero”, “fought”, “glory”, “honour”, and “noble” to put across the bravery and heroism of the men. Many of the words also convey excitement and action, making the poem more thrilling and romantic. Tennyson, at the end of each verse repeats variations of lines which all contain the phrase “six hundred”. By repeating this, I feel it becomes less and less unusual each time, so a reader would be less taken aback by the fact that six hundred men were sent to charge towards the guns, each time they read it. After a few times, I anticipate the phrase and the rhythm, and do not really think about how many soldiers it is, and six hundred becomes familiar and unsurprising.
The pace at which the poems are read is also very important. “Dulce et Decorum est” is designed to be read very slowly, apart from in the middle verse, which should be read faster. This is because the middle verse contains action and adrenaline, so should be quicker. The other two verses should be slow, so the words are thought about and understood more deeply, and it becomes more meaningful and shocking. Also, the slow pace reflects the speed and the mood of the tired men in the poem. In the first and last verses, the long words, and the long lines, the lack of a rhyming scheme, and the frequent punctuation achieve this slow speed. All these slow down the reading of the verses. The short words, often monosyllables and the reduced number of commas increase the speed in the second verse. These allow the poem to be read quicker, to convey action. The reading of “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is speeded up firstly by the rhyming scheme, which allows the lines to be read quicker. The rhythm of the lines is also important. There are two short syllables followed by one long one. This emulates the gallop of horses, thus speeding up the pace. It is called a dactyl. The short words and short lines are also an important part in speeding up the poem and the action. We can see that there is little punctuation in the poem, which ensures the pace is not impeded. This conveys excitement at the men’s bravery.
The sounds of the words also play a big role in setting the mood of the poems. The sounds in “Dulce et Decorum est” are very had, due to the hard consonants. For example: “coughing”, “guttering”, “gargling”, “bitter”, “cursed”, “drunk” and “deaf”. This creates a harsh, aggressive atmosphere, giving an impression of the terrible conditions and agonising deaths the soldiers were affected by, and is also harder to read, slowing down the pace further. The words in “The Charge of the Light Brigade” sound very soft, for instance: “half”, “forward”, “volley’d”, “reel’d”, “fought”, “sabring” and “honour. This makes the poem all the more euphemistic, and less shocking. It is also easier to read, so the pace is speeded up. This softness is created by the soft consonants and long vowels.
Unlike “Dulce et Decorum est”, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” does not show the effects of war on people. This could be because Lord Tennyson was not in the Crimean war, and also because describing the terrible effects of war on people would interfere with the heroic, noble atmosphere he is trying to create. Wilfred Owen shows the effects on him up to his death in 1917, after his experiences in the First World War. He is accusing war, so he writes a small aside from personal encounters. The poem reads: “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” I think this has a huge impact, more so than the powerful, terrible images he creates. It describes his nightmares of people being gassed, using three of the most shocking and revolting sounding words in the poem. For me, showing the horrendous and distressing effects on ordinary people is an incredible way of expressing his opinions, and trying to persuade people not to go to war, as it is a very powerful emotional appeal. In my opinion, the last few lines of each poem sum up the mood and the motion of the poems, and the attitudes of the writers on war. The last few lines of Lord Tennyson’s poem read: “Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred.” Tennyson feels that the charge of the Light Brigade was noble and brave, not stupid. We can clearly see his romantic, glorious view of war epitomised here. The closing lines of “Dulce et Decorum est” are: “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.” Owen is criticising the people who wrote of war in terms of nobility, glory and heroism, to con young people into the army. By using the word “desperate”, Owen indicates that it is not glorious to die for your country, but reckless and irrational. He comments on the fact that the writers such as Jessie Pope prey on young peoples’ appetites for glory, as glory was all people knew about war before they joined the army. Owen goes further than this, suggesting that the writers of glorious war poems have even lied to the young people, and sent them to the front line to die in their millions, in awful conditions and distressing situations.
Having explored both poems, I feel that the one which brings about the biggest response from me is “Dulce et Decorum est”. This is because of the striking graphic imagery he uses, the way he describes the effects of the war on him, and also because of the way he directs the poem at the reader personally, using phrases such as “you” and “my friend”. In my opinion, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” does not have the impact and the realism to convey the opinions contained in it effectively and forcefully. I feel is a more imaginative, outlook on war than Wilfred Owen’s graphic poem. The thing I did like about Tennyson’s poem was the excitement and passion and pace.
