What Tennyson tells us about the men that fought is very positive. In the fifth stanza, the retreat from the attack, they are described as heroes. One key point to the view we perceive of the men, is the fact that the use of euphemism makes the whole scene far ‘nicer’and further from the reality of war:
The use of the word “fell” instead of ‘killed’ or ‘slaughtered’ adds to the heroism of the men; they don’t die, they just fall from the battle. This is a key to Tennyson’s attitude to war, as he sees everything in a very ‘cloudless’ and clean fashion, he doesn’t focus upon the defeats or deaths. Tennyson never gives details about the number of men who died in the battle, it is simply “not the six hundred” and “left of the six hundred”.
Tennyson uses language tools throughout the poem to give a better image of the events. In the opening stanza the risk and sacrifice being made is emphasised by the repetition of “the valley of Death”. The words “valley of Death” are one of the few phrases in the entire poem, which are actually realistic; they are the only time the risk of death to the men is actually shown to us directly in the poem. However, there is still no gore or even negativity shown to us.
Onomatopoeia is also used, especially in the third stanza. The word “Cannon” here is a noun but more importantly it is the sound of the ‘cannon’ that is used to build up the picture of the valley; the repetition of the word, gives the impression that the cannon are all around them. The danger and terror is also added to using onomatopoeia with the words “Volley’d and thunder’d” which help build up a clearer image of the scene.
In stanza four, Tennyson has used some very clever language tools. The first words of the lines twenty-seven to thirty are all onomatopoeic. “Flash’d”, however, is also a very glamorous sounding word. Tennyson had a very glamorous and splendorous view on war and has given the impression of the attack being glamorous, which would be excellent for morale but isn’t at all an accurate report on the events. The line “All the world wonder’d” suggests that the attack was the most important thing in the world; this adds to the honour and nobility shown to us of the men and the events.
Hyperbole can also be seen in the fourth stanza in the line “Right thro’ the line they broke”. The emphasis that the men didn’t just ‘break through the line’, but instead went right through is unnecessary for the depiction of events, but is used by Tennyson to show how excellent the act was.
Alliteration is another tool used at the end of stanza. “sabre-stroke” “shatter’d and sunder’d” all emphasise the attack and in a fashion make the attack seem glamorous once again. Euphemism can also be seen in the stanza. ‘Killing’ is obviously an unpleasant thing, Tennyson knowing this does not use the verb ‘to kill’ anywhere. Instead the verb “Sabring” has been concocted to save him having to say killed. “Shatter’d” is also used in the same way.
The attack we know was a military blunder. The first five lines of the fifth stanza could be seen as directly saying this as they are exactly the same as the first five line of the third stanza, implying that nothing has changed except the cannon aren’t in-front of them, they are behind. However, Tennyson was most probably not saying this as in doing so he would be admitting the mistake of the commanding officers. Instead it is probable that he is just telling the story of the battle.
Towards the end of the stanza, we have the lines:
“Came thro’ the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell”
This is a refrain from stanza three. These recurring words can have the same purpose as the first five lines and so can be perceived in different ways.
The fact this is a purified poem is shown again in the last two lines of the stanza. We are told that the men are now not the whole six hundred but there are no details given to us by Tennyson as to how many have actually died.
“The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a narrative poem. However, stanza six isn’t narrative; it is rather, reflective.
It is this stanza in which Tennyson gives his message to us. The question of “When can their glory fade?” is a rhetorical question, and is there merely to make it clear that Tennyson feels it was a glorious battle. The second line “O the wild charge -” seems to be saying that it is simply something wonderful. The line also has a feeling of excitement, as though it was a great adventure. This is doubtfull, but would have been excellent for boosting morale. The closing three lines of the stanza are very powerful. Tennyson is plainly telling the reader to not question the order but to honour and admire the men; whether they died or survived, honour them equally as they all had the same courage and showed the same loyalty and so each should be ‘honoured’.
Overall the mood of this poem is very serious and honourable. Through the poem, Tennyson is greatly praising the soldiers, concentrating on their bravery and nobility and not the blunder or the defeat. The whole report of the battle is romanticised and cleansed, and is devoid of all violence and horror that is the reality.
“Dulce et Decorum est” was written by Wilfred Owen during the first world war. Wilfred Owen was a serving officer at the front. He had said he wanted to speak on behalf of the men at the front, and through his poems such as this he did so. The poem is about a gas attack, which caught a group of soldiers retreating from the front for rest. It is written in the first person, which brings us closer to the events and also gives a more personal view to everything.
Owen wrote the poem to show the reality of war. He doesn’t at any point say that we shouldn’t fight; he wasn’t a pacifist, he fought as an officer at the front. However, he did want the truth to be told about the war. Through the poem he was directly opposing those in charge and authority who were telling the lies about the war to the people back home. He didn’t want dishonesty, he wanted the truth to be told, and so he told the truth in his work, as we can see here.
The imagery used by Owen is very different to that used by Tennyson. The images are not at all positive, unlike those of Tennyson.
The opening stanza informs us of the condition of the men. The image those in authority gave about war was that it was glamorous; this is the complete opposite to what we are told by Owen. The image we gain of the men is not at all of strong and proud soldiers, but of “old beggars”, who literally don’t have the energy to move along. The soldiers were young, eager men when they entered the war, but it is suggested to us that through the war they have become old and seemingly not at all proud. The sharp, hard description of the men tells us exactly how the men are feeling; how they are said to be “coughing like hags”.
“We cursed through sludge”, shows us the difficulties they are experiencing, as sludge is difficult to walk through at the best of times. Also, the word “cursed” is a very hard and harsh word, which represents the feelings of the men.
The way the men are said to move also conjures graphic images. The pain and suffering they have gone through is evident to us with the description Owen gives us. The way Owen tells us of them moving from the front to the reserves shows us that even this is too difficult for most of the men, as with their condition they don’t walk, they “trudge” suggesting that they are all tired and finding it difficult to move to their “distant rest”. The word “distant” emphasises the fact of how impossible it seems to get to the reserve trenches due to their poor condition. Also, how the men are said to have “marched asleep” suggests that the men are almost “not conscious”. This use of hyperbole emphasises the condition of the men again, and so paint a clearer picture of their feeling as well as their condition.
The stanza is there to provide us with an understanding of the men and the scene. However, the use of the word “shod” is actually dehumanising the men, as though what they have gone through has made them less than human, as the word “shod” is actually associated will animals, not people. The use of the word “lame” furthers this point on dehumanisation. As well as implying that what they have gone through has made them less then human, it also suggests that the men are no longer human beings but are simply a machine, much as animals used to be. It also seems that Owen is implying here that the people in authority don’t care about the men as they have little importance to them; they are simply part of a machine to do a job. This indirect attack is very powerful and shows the anger that Owen felt.
The use of the word “Drunk” is quite ironic. It is used to describe the men’s ‘staggering’ movements, but it also has another, deeper meaning. Being drunk is something that sometimes is considered pleasurable, what the men are going through however, is far from that.
The close of the stanza is a line, which has a very eerie threat. The alliteration of the “s” sound suggests that Owen is trying to symbolise the gas escaping from the canisters. The line is also full of menace. This is an excellent link with the gas itself, as the results of a gas attack were horrific.
The second stanza sees a change in pace with the panic of the gas attack. The repetition of the word “Gas!” emphasises the panic and creates the contrast to the first stanza. The use of the word “ecstasy” is very peculiar. “Ecstasy” is a word meaning high enjoyment. Here, it is used with the same meaning; the attack has brought excitement into the men, which just shows how the men’s condition is. This produces a very strange picture in our minds. If we were caught in a gas attack then we would be incredibly scared and worried; here, we are told, that due to the war these men are excited by the attack. This does not seem at all a normal or even humane response.
The description of the masks as “clumsy” raises very powerful emotion. Owen is describing what the men have to go through: they have to use poor, ill-fitting, badly designed masks and don’t have at all efficient equipment. Due to the inefficient equipment we aren’t surprised to discover that someone is having difficulties; however, this knowledge does not prepare us for what we hear.
The language used by Owen helps tell the story but also helps explain the emotions he felt at the time. The use of the word “stumbling” suggests the desperate movements of the man, the panic he is going through trying to fit his mask, and the pain he was already beginning to feel from the gas. The way the man is said to be “flound’ring” furthers this point. The use of simile with “fire or lime” begins to show us the horrific images Owen saw; through the simile we are told how the gas is burning the lungs of the soldier, and we begin to empathise with the helpless feelings of our narrator.
The wording Owen has chosen to close the second stanza produces a feeling of helplessness in ourselves as it is very difficult for us to imagine gas attacks, but someone drowning is very plain and simple for us to see. This, again, is another way Owen has made the poem more personal.
The first stanza was written to set the scene; the second was telling the story of the gas attacks; the third stanza however, is Owen speaking to us almost in an aside about his feelings, which remained with him. The language used is very powerful and paints a very vivid picture. The rest of the poem is about what happens around him, but this stanza is completely personal – this is what happens to him.
The hyperbole at the start of the stanza, “in all my dreams,” stresses the fact that it is an experience that permanently haunts him. The guilt and pity that he felt is shown to us with words such as “helpless”; which is actually exactly what he was at the time. The use of the word “plunge” isn’t to describe the person’s movements; it is used to describe how desperate the person was, and also to emphasise the guilt our narrator feels as it is he who the man chose. The choice of the word “guttering” produces a very effective image for the purpose it was intended – to put across what he went through. The onomatopoeic words “choking, drowning” are excellent for describing the out of control state of the dying man.
Through the fourth stanza, Owen invites us, but more directly the people of authority, to be in his position at the time of the attacks.
The use of the word “smothering” shows just exactly what the experience has done to him, to experience the same horror and agony. As the description continues, the way he says they “flung” the dying man on the cart is not at all critical of them doing so; instead he is stating that due to the huge loss of life they have all seen, their sensitivity has been reduced; yet another example of what the war has done to these men. The description of the dying man is very graphic, and so we can almost witness it as though we are actually there. The simile “like a devil’s sick of sin”, shows the evil of war and of what happens to the men through the attacks. The “sin”, however, is also the sin of the war. With serving at the front, Owen saw all the atrocities that claimed lives and quite simply thought that it was too much for anyone to go through. The description of the blood “gargling” from the man’s lungs produces quite simply a disgusting image. The simile in the following line:
“Obscene as cancer”, is very creative as in using it has told us that for him it is the worst thing that could happen, as cancer is one of the most feared conditions. The use of “bitter” as an adjective is to completely contrast with the saying “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori” “It is sweet and proper to die for your father land” as bitter is the complete opposite of sweet. In doing this, Owen has stated quite clearly that the truth of the war is the opposite of what the authorities are saying.
The use of alliteration of the “in-” exaggerates the fact that the innocent young men, who enter the war, if they are indeed lucky enough to survive, will be scarred eternally. This would have provoked great thought in any reader at the time, as it does now.
The closing lines of the stanza “My friend, -” is again separate from the rest of the poem as he is effectively giving advice to those in authority; but he is also pleading to not ‘bully’ the weak and innocent, hence his use of the word “children”, as he saw what happened to them. Then, the way he closes the poem by stating clearly that the saying is nothing but a lie, shows clearly the anger and outrage he feels towards those in charge. In Owen’s opinion war is not indeed sweet and proper; it is horrific. He doesn’t at all seem to be contradicting the fact that it is not good fight for country; after all he later lost his life fighting the war when attacking a German machine-gun post just before the armistice.
The use of vivid imagery, leaving out none of the details, has created a poem that brings us, the reader, the truth behind the war and has shown, beyond doubt, Owens own view of the war and what happens to the men involved.
Alfred Lord Tennyson seems to be completely for the war and has a very naïve view. Really, it seems, he has no idea what the men actually went through. He is right to honour the men but the attack shouldn’t have happened – it was badly planned and resulted in a great loss of life. I don’t believe Tennyson was uncaring towards the men, but I don’t believe he knew what did actually happen.
Wilfred Owen saw the war from the front as an officer. Due to this he would undoubtedly have seen many men he knew, be killed in many ways; he would have seen what the war did to the serving men; and how the men wouldn’t have had any idea of what to expect. Due to this he was angry, very angry, because of the lie “Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori” which was used to encourage the men to enlist. Through the poem he was saying that there is nothing sweet about death, but in-fact says nothing against it being proper to die for your country. He wasn’t against the war; he wasn’t a pacifist; he just wanted the truth to be told.