Comparing Lord Tennyson and Wilfred Owen

Comparing Lord Tennyson and Wilfred Owen Propaganda in war time was a very powerful way to change someone's view on war, or to sugar-coat the truth of what is happening at war. (However when what is said is a complete lie this sparks a thought in the mind of a certain person from then on the "People's voice" is heard). The two poems written are both based on war. The poems are also both literature based, and were written to show moral outrage. The two poems which are to be analysed are "Dulce et Decorum est", written by Wilfred Owen. The other poem is "Charge of the Light Brigade" written by Alfred Tennyson. These two poems describe war, and scenes from war, with varying levels of intensity and also from different viewpoints. Wilfred Owen was a soldier in World War One and he writes from first hand experience. Alfred Tennyson's poem was written in the Crimean War. Lord Tennyson was the port Laureate at this time of war and he witnessed no fighting. Tennyson's poem was written about a military blunder and how 600+ men were sent right into the camp of the opposing force and shot down like fish in a barrel. Owen's poem was written to show the disgraceful conditions on the trench and to show how many people die in this "Game". Imagery is used a lot in both poems. This makes the poem more real in the minds of the reader. Owen also makes it realistic by telling the reader

  • Word count: 764
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Poetry of the First World War.

Poetry of the First World War The First World War broke out on the 4th August 1914. It sparked fantasies for many young men of becoming a war hero. The government assured everyone that the war would be over by Christmas. Boys and men decided to join up in an attempt not to miss the excitement. Poets were just as patriotic as the men going to die fighting. Because of this patriotism, the poets wrote about how glamorous the war was and how good it felt to die for ones country. This was all in an attempt to keep the number of men high enough to replace those who were lost. These men did see action but they were all mainly middle class people and so were given high ranks and didn't see much of the front line. They didn't see the true horrors of war and carried on writing patriotic poems. Fortunately for men still joining the war, some poets, such as Wilfred Owen, did see the horrors of war and wrote very unpatriotic poems such as 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' which was one of his most famous poems. 'The Volunteer' by Herbert Asquith tells about how good war was and how one should die for their country; "and in that high hour he lived and died" he says that the greatest point in a man's life is when he dies for his country. He never saw war which makes him hypocritical as he talks about an experience he never had. In his poems, Asquith uses great images of Roman wars to glamorize

  • Word count: 841
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Why did the number of women employed in Britain begin to rise significantly from mid-1915?

Assignment One: Objective 1 Why did the number of women employed in Britain begin to rise significantly from mid-1915? In 1911 the government census revealed that 11 million adult women did not have a paid job. The main reason as to why many women in Britain were not employed is that women were expected to marry and become housewives. Their job was to care for their husbands and raise children. However working class women had no choice other than to work. The most common job for working class women at the time was domestic service. 1.5 million women worked as domestic servants working long hours as cooks, cleaners or chambermaids. 500,000 women worked in the sweated trades and 900,000 women worked in the textiles industry. The textiles industry was a major employer of women. Women were usually paid two-thirds of a man's wage or less. When the First World War broke out in 1914, women had to fill in jobs that men had left behind them to go and fight. More and more men went to fight in the war and by mid 1915; Britain's workforce was seriously depleted. In the spring of 1915, Herbert Asquith (famous for his "business as usual" motto), went on a speaking tour of Britain to talk to the 'Workers of Industry.' This was clearly an attempt to boost the morale on the Home Front as the war dragged on into its second year. Entry to Asquith's meetings was free, but by ticket only.

  • Word count: 1327
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Comparison between Tennyson's 'charge of the light brigade' and Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est'.

Comparison between Tennyson's 'charge of the light brigade' and Owen's 'Dulce et Decorum Est'. During this essay I am going to try and prove to you that these two war poems have a different meaning to them and a different message behind them. Obviously they are both trying to get the point across about what the poets believe war to be like but I feel Wilfred Owen's poem is a lot more detailed whereas Alfred Lord Tennyson's has a more vague approach! Firstly, I will discuss Tennyson's impression of war and how he shows us that war is full of honour, bravery and heroism. Throughout this poem Tennyson sticks to a very brief description of soldiers, death and general war! Tennyson is trying to tell us that the soldiers who fought in this war were brave and should be honoured and respected. Proof of this is in the quote 'Honour the charge they made'. From Tennyson's point of view he must of felt that the soldiers were brave and courageous enough for us to honour them which is asked of us in this quote. In this poem it is as if there is no hope for these soldiers, like they are already dead and this effect is proven by many of the gloomy quotes which are portrayed throughout the poem- "while horse and hero fell" emphasising the word "fell". Many of the quotes in 'Charge of the Light Brigade' are negative because when we read these lines it makes the soldiers sound more brave and

  • Word count: 2251
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Compare the way Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen portray war in 'The Rear Guard' and 'Strange Meeting'.

Laura Cole Compare the way Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen portray war in 'The Rear Guard' and 'Strange Meeting' The first poem 'the Rear Guard' describes a soldier's journey when trying to escape from the horror of the trenches. En route he stumbles across what is described by Sassoon as a 'sleeper'- a solider who is believed to be asleep. After a silent response and dormant reactions to the soldier's kick, he discovers that the 'sleeper' is actually a dead victim of war. Eventually the 'rear-guard' is able to leave the tunnel 'unloading hell behind him'. In 'Strange Meeting', it is supposedly Owen who is the narrator telling the reader of his experience. The narrator believes he has died and has been sent to hell, where he meets a ghost (hence the title) and is told how it is terrible to die young in war. The poems share many similarities as well as the obvious subject of war. Both writers portray the horror of war and it is true to say that both poems are strongly anti-war. Examples of this include 'Now men will go content with what we spoiled' (from Strange Meeting) and 'unloading hell' ('The Rear-Guard"). The choice of language of the two poems also shares similarities. Both writers use hard-hitting vocabulary, describing war unsparingly, more so in 'The Rear-Guard'- 'Savage he kicked an unanswering heap' although there is evidence of this in 'Strange

  • Word count: 1233
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast the ways in which Wilfred Owen and Ted Hughes write about nature.

Compare and contrast the ways in which Wilfred Owen and Ted Hughes write about nature. In this extended piece of writing I am going to compare and contrast 'Exposure', a poem written by Wilfred Owen, to a poem written by Ted Hughes, 'Thistles'. 'Exposure' is a poem about the men who are fighting in the First World War and are suffering from the effects of the weather and the formidable conditions in which they have to live. They hallucinate about going back home and dream about what it would be like, but then return to reality, to the cold and dreadful trenches. Towards the end of the poem, there is a shift in tone and atmosphere. The men realise that their being in the trenches is essential for the protection of freedom and domestic security. Moreover it is their destiny. Ostensibly, 'Thistles' is about nature. On a more profound level, the poem is about survival and the pain endured during the growth and rebirth of this plant. There are comparisons and effective phrases using natural imagery as the poem's focus, showing that the battle for survival in an indifferent world is a brutal one. I will now examine in more detail each poet's approach to the role of nature in these poems. Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us... This quotation is from the first line of 'Exposure'. Immediately, we recognise a sense of pain and anguish. This

  • Word count: 3568
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Women and the war effort in Britain, 1914-18 Sources Questions

CSU 5 - Women and the war effort in Britain, 1914-18 . "Source A is propaganda and, therefore, it is of little use as evidence about the importance of women in the First World War." Do you agree or disagree? Source A is useful for showing that the British government used propaganda to unite the hearts and efforts of the home front and the front lines. Source A is the cover to the War worker in June 1917 - a time when conscription was beginning to be used by the government, and so a large percentage of the army didn't even want to be where they were. The fact that a woman is shown on the front cover at all, however, shows that women were considered important in some way. The cover is however not factual and only shows the idealistic view of life in the trenches and the factories, but is useful in showing what the atmosphere of the time was like. 2. Is Source C more reliable than Source E as evidence about how enthusiastic women were to support the war effort in the First World War? Source C is an extract from a book written in 1994 by historian Angela Woollacott. Source E is an extract from The daily chronicle newspaper published on the 19th of July 1915. The main difference between them is reliability. Angela Woollacott wrote the book with the main purpose of informing the audience of readers. It is unlikely that she would have 'made up' or added material as she pleased.

  • Word count: 1211
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Why Did the Stalemate on the Western Front Occur?

Why Did the Stalemate on the Western Front Occur? Alex Lines Why was there a stalemate on the western front for so long? This is a common question, discussed many times among many people. In total, between Germany, Britain and France, deaths amounted to 4,039,871, and 10,442,270 more were wounded during the whole war, and most of these casualties were caused in the stalemate on the western front. In truth, there are several reasons why the stalemate occurred. In my opinion, the most important reason for the stalemate was the strategies used during the war. With a lack of imagination from the generals added to the defensive stance of the Germans meant that the stalemate lasted a very long time. The overall offensive tactics involved mainly an artillery bombardment, infantry climbing out of the trenches to eliminate the enemy, then a support attack of cavalry. However, though this tactic may have worked in the past, the addition of the new weapon, the machine gun, destroyed any real chance of this orthodox attack from succeeding. The generals of the First World War started off (and carried on throughout most of the war) with the idea of massed infantry charges with bayonets fixed to their rifles, so with the ability to fire 600 rounds per minute, this weapon was excellent for wiping out large numbers of infantry and cavalry units, thus making it an excellent weapon of

  • Word count: 1879
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Mother Courage and Her Children - Bertolt Brecht

"Mother Courage and Her Children" - Bertolt Brecht - Plot. "Mother Courage" is a play about a canteen woman who sells goods during the Thirty Years War (1613-48). She lives off of the war, but does not wish for her children to have anything to do with it. Her three children, Eilif, Swiss Cheese and Kattrin are fated to death during the first scene. Scene one - Mother Courage is trying to put Eilif off of his temptations to join the army by pulling out black crosses signifying death for a soldier, she draws out a cross for each of her children too. This scene is in 1624, Sweden, during a truce in the Swedish- Polish war. The climax to the scene is when Eilif goes off with the soldiers, whilst Mother Courage is distracted. This scene emphasises the beginning of Courage's new business, the new war and the prospect of new times. This scene has a sense of irony as Courage is only trying to put Eilif off of the army, but she in fact predicts his future, as well as that of her other children. All her fears for her children are actually justified. Scene two- Starts with Mother Courage arguing with the cook over an over-priced capon outside of the General's tent. It is now 1626 in Poland where the Swedes are besieging the Polish fortress of Wallhof. She overhears the General congratulating a soldier for his triumph over some peasants in the cause of "true religion" and realises

  • Word count: 1686
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of "An Irish Airman foresees his Death" by W.B. Yeats

Analysis of "An Irish Airman foresees his Death" by W.B. Yeats This particular poem - "An Irish Airman foresees his Death" - was composed by Yeats for his close friend Lady Augusta Gregory. The poem was written in honor of her son, Major Robert Gregory, who served in the air forces during the First World War. The poem is written as a narrative, from the 'Irish Airman's' perspective, documenting his final thoughts. The title of the poem gives the reader an immediate idea of the subject and content; we know straight away that the poem is about 'An Irish Airman' contemplating his impending death. Yeats uses no elaborate language or ideas to convey the message, and the first two lines bring us straight to the heart of the subject; the airman is facing death - 'I know that I shall meet my fate/Somewhere among the clouds above'. He is fully aware of his 'fate' (this is emphasized by the use of the words 'I know'), yet rather than being scared by the thought, his feelings seem to be of resignation. This gives the poem a solemn, resigned tone - as opposed to anger or bitterness. The next two lines are extremely poignant. In my opinion, they raise a lot of interesting questions about the feelings soldiers had towards their enemy, as well as the country they fought for. Yeats writes, 'Those that I fight I do not hate/Those that I guard I do not love'. He is saying that the airman

  • Word count: 1216
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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