Wilfred Owen makes his poem more realistic by using the senses to aid his descriptions. He includes the sounds of gas shells dropping, and of ‘the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs’. He then gives an impression of the awful taste of this blood, ‘bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues’. This descriptive use of senses makes the poem shockingly realistic, and also very vivid. Tennyson does not use senses, but he tries 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. 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 create a very intimidating, and often sickening mood. The first stanza shows the awful conditions in the trenches. The first simile Owen uses is ‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks’. This is totally unexpected, as an army is supposed to 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 surprising. I begin to imagine the pain and discomfort the soldiers had to put up with, on top of 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 stanza, colour is used to make the scene more dramatic, and also more exciting. The ‘green sea’ is referring to the green colour of the chlorine gas. The colour green is often related to eerie 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 pain, 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 the only thing people really knew was that people died from it. This is reflected in the fact that people know little about the horrors of war and death. Owen also uses many single words to shock his readers, and to convey his feelings. He uses immensely powerful and sickening words to represent the soldier who was being 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. 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 appalling conditions, and that it affects every aspect of soldier’s lives in the trenches. By saying they ‘flung’ the dying man in the wagon, it shows even the dying and injured are not treated kindly or gently, and also that there are many dead or dying people, as they have a wagon to carry them in. They are casting off the injured, so as they aren’t as affected by the death and suffering.
The images created in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ are very majestic and noble. The mood is very glorious and heroic. The first image created is ‘the valley of Death’. Interestingly enough, ‘Death’ has a capital ‘D’. I think this is because Tennyson 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 take one person at a time, so many of the soldiers will not die. 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’. This is also a good use of personification. A heroic scene is also created when the general says, ‘Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!’. This creates images of heroes on horseback, charging fearlessly towards the guns, when they know they will be killed. These elements of fearlessness and and danger add thrill 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...’.
Stanza four is full of excitement and bravery. Colour is used when the soldiers ‘Flashed all their sabres bare...’. This gives the impression of a very well equipped, smart, clean and impressive army - a contrast to the soldiers in Owen’s poem. The stanza 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 stanza also points to a clean, easy victory for the mighty Light Brigade, ‘Charging an army , while All the world wondered.’. 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 anguish both the enemy and the Light Brigade died in.
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, at the end of each stanza 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 shocked 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 stanza, which should be read quicker. This is because the middle stanza contains action, so should be quicker. The other two stanzas 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 stanzas, this slow speed is achieved by the long words, and the long lines, and the lack of a rhyming scheme. All these slow down the reading of the stanzas.
The reading of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is speeded up firstly by the rhyming, 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 resembles the gallop of horses, thus speeding up the pace. 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.
Unlike ‘Dulce et Decorum est’, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ does not show the effects of war on people. This could be because 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 condemning 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 Tennyson’s poem reads, ‘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 glorious view of war 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. 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 show the opinions contained in it effectively and forcefully. I feel is a more imaginative, outlook on war than Owen’s graphic poem. The thing I did like about Tennyson’s poem was the excitement and pace.
