We feel that the soldiers are heroic as the “Half a league” moves onwards into battle. When the poem is read allowed the tripling sounds like marching. This effect gives a sense of bravery from The Light Brigade. The tripling in two of the stanzas is used when describing the large number of cannons used in battle, because the noun ‘cannons’ is repeated we imagine that they may surround the men. To me I refer to the tripling
“Cannons to the right of them,
Cannons to the left of them…”
as being the constant sound of cannons firing on the battlefield.
Tennyson makes it obvious to the reader that death is inevitable. The noun “Death” is personified by a capital letter, implying that Death is the owner of the valley the soldiers are entering. This noun has also been repeated in every stanza, making it stand out, inferring that it could be important to the outcome of the battle. The soldiers rode into a hell of a battle. The use of personification, “mouth of Hell” to me evokes the image of a beast or monster waiting for the soldiers in “The valley of Death”.
This poem gets the reader involved by using imperatives such as “Honour the charge they made”. Alfred Tennyson thought provokes the readers through his use of rhetorical questions, such as “Was there a man dismayed?” On the other hand, he may have used imperatives and rhetorical questions to get the reader to agree with the poet that soldiers are heroic. He may have wanted the readers to share his views and ‘honour the light brigade’.
The war was loud and noisy. Noise imagery is evoked with verbs like “volleyed” and “thundered”, which could suggest the noise of the cannons being loud and threatening like thunder, as well as there was probably lots of guns firing everywhere.
Unlike ‘Dulce et decorum est’, the last stanza is short and suggests an imperative conclusion. Tennyson has a patriotic view of war, he believes in fighting for your country. The poet here has ordered the readers to look up to and “honour” the “Noble six hundred” soldiers, whilst, Wilfred Owen’s poem leaves you to decide for yourself whether you agree with him.
Owen’s poem, ‘Dulce et decorum est’, gives a negative first impression. Wilfred Owen and his fellow soldiers are described as being “like old beggars” and “coughing like hags”. This suggests the unhealthy, almost begging for mercy state they are in. However, Tennyson’s poem describes the Light Brigade as being strong and full of life, keeping a fast pace rhythm in the poem.
We imagine how the soldiers could be angry and frustrated as they “curse through sludge”. I believe that Wilfred Owen has used “curse” instead of struggle or swore to imply that they have been cursed with this bad luck or hex, whereas Alfred Tennyson believes the soldiers are blessed with their duty and that it is an honour to them.
Wilfred Owen describes that even the feet are “blood-shod”, which infers how murderous and bloodthirsty wartime is, as we imagine shoes of blood. The use of short and quick direct speech as a soldier shouts “Gas!” adds urgency and a feeling of shock from the soldiers. This suggests the unpredictability of war.
The soldiers are shocked and rushed for time, “fumbling” as they put on their gas masks. The lines implying this are onomatopoeic, which make the lines awkward to say. This could be showing us that it is an awkward situation and this further backs up my suggestion of war being unpredictable.
Owen suggests to us the uncontrolled movements of the soldier in front of him. The poet has included tripling of ‘ing’ sounds, “guttering, choking, drowning”, which infers how powerful and uncontrollable war is. This to me enhances my mental image of the soldier’s suffering.
The character “My friend” in the last four lines is identified as Jessie Pope, who the original poem was dedicated to. Jessie Pope was a journalist and author of three volumes of cheerful, patriotic poems. These lines were meant to attack her for her patriotic “lie”.
It is strongly implied that war is wrong, so much so that even the devil is “sick of sin”. Another possibility could be that the victim of the gas attack is so badly scared his face is like a sick devil.
Tennyson, from what has been implied in the poem, views war something that is for the brave and people should respect those who have fought for Britain. Despite his patriotic view, he has repeated the danger of an early death in his poem, proving he is fully aware of war’s horrors. Owen has shown war as being gruesome. His poem describes the war through the senses, which allows readers enter the shoes of Wilfred Owen, and understand war’s tragedy. He believes that ‘sweet and proper to die for your country’ is a lie, unlike Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson’s poem was based on a newspaper article that has made the poem biased and patriotic. I prefer Wilfred Owen’s poem because I am able to see war through his experience and how The First World War has emotionally affected him.
