Explore the portrayal of war in Lord Byron's 'The Destruction of Sennacherib', Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' and Tennyson's 'The Charge of The Light Brigade'.
Explore the portrayal of war in Lord Byron's 'The Destruction of Sennacherib', Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' and Tennyson's 'The Charge of The Light Brigade'.
We have studied three poems on the subject of different views of war. 'The Destruction of Sennacherib' and 'The Charge of the Light brigade' were written pre 1914 whereas 'Dulce Et Decorum Est was written post 1914'. Dulce et decorum est, was written by Wilfred Owen, and is meant to portray the harshness of the first world war. This was mainly to combat writers such as Jesse Pope, who portrayed the war as "a game". Lord Byron's the destruction of Sennacherib, was written pre 1914, and he used secondary evidence (2nd book of chronicles chapter 32 in the Old Testament) to structure his poem. Most of his poems were based on religious stories however, it is strange that he should do this, when he lived the kind of lifestyle that he did. Tennyson also based his poem on secondary evidence - a newspaper article. He shows war to be heroic and that it is patriotic to die for your country.
Lord Byron's poem was published. The Destruction of Sennacherib in 1815. The poem is written about a story in the bible describing how the King of Assyria (Sennacherib) invaded Judea planned to destroy Jerusalem. It talks about how the king who praised the one real god was rewarded for being faithful in his darkest hour.
The first stanza describes the power Assyrian army, by using vibrant colours "Purple and Gold". By using the vibrant and victorious colours, he shows his view on war as victorious.
He goes on to compare their "spears to stars on the sea" - in a romantic way. This shows how Byron views war in a beautiful and romantic way. Furthermore, Byron shows more romantic imagery, "when the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee" this is a picturesque image for the reader showing Byron's romantic view of war.
The second stanza describes the change of power and force of the Assyrian army, to the changing of the seasons. Summer being powerful and autumn being "withered and strown". This shows how God is all-powerful, and that no matter how strong the Assyrian army was, God would defeat them.
In the third stanza, he repeats the word "and" this shows how he is excited at the upcoming action. Thus showing he is excited by war. He also describes the Assyrian's as being "waxed deadly and chill" to show that the death was instant.
The fourth stanza stresses how the angel of death passed and killed everything. Even "the steed with his nostril all wide" left defeated, with no pride, nothing. He uses a lot of imagery even making the death of the horse seem romantic "and the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, and cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf".
Stanza 5 describes the detail of the dead rider of the horse in the previous stanza. The first line uses a powerful and brutal word, "distorted", however this word is not very bad at all and this reflects Lord Byron's view on war, with this poem portraying it
In the last stanza, the first three lines begin with "and", this repetition shows an excitement in his attitude to war. This is to speed up the rhythm and gives a light-hearted but fast tempo to the end of the poem, which is further enhanced by the last two ...
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Stanza 5 describes the detail of the dead rider of the horse in the previous stanza. The first line uses a powerful and brutal word, "distorted", however this word is not very bad at all and this reflects Lord Byron's view on war, with this poem portraying it
In the last stanza, the first three lines begin with "and", this repetition shows an excitement in his attitude to war. This is to speed up the rhythm and gives a light-hearted but fast tempo to the end of the poem, which is further enhanced by the last two lines, "And the might, of the gentile, unsmote by the sword, hath melted by snow in the glance of the lord!" These lines seem almost like a nursery rhyme, not a war poem.
'The Charge of the Light Brigade' is structured into six stanzas, each one depicting a different part of the battle. This structure is similar to that used in the destruction of Sennacherib. The poem has an irregular rhyme scheme because the rhyme pattern varies throughout. Some of the lines have a much stronger rhyme than others for example reply/why/die all rhyme giving the effect of speeding the lines up and making them flow. However some lines such as "not tho' the soldier knew, someone had blunder'd." are designed to be difficult to read. The effect of this is to break up the flow making you concentrate more. The overall effect of the rhyming pattern is to highlight key points in the poem and create a rhythm similar to that from the destruction of Sennacherib.
In the first stanza, the order to charge is given and the 600 British soldiers begin their attack. In this verse, Tennyson uses metaphors in order to create an image. For example "into to the valley of death" it also begins its pattern of repeating rode the six hundred at the end of each verse. This, like 'The destruction of Sennacherib' gives an impression of a nursery rhyme.
The second stanza is about the order to charge being a mistake, it says "someone had blunder'd". In this verse, he uses the strong rhyming pattern to speed the story along. For example the last three lines end with "reply", "why" and "die". This verse also expresses Tennyson view of war. His view being that it is every soldier's duty to fight and even to die for his country if it is necessary.
The next verse is still about them charging and describes them being surrounded by the Russian cannons. Tennyson now uses personification to describe their destination as "the jaws of death" this creates a very strong image and give the reader an idea of the danger they are riding towards.
The fourth stanza begins with the British engaging the Russians and "sabring the gunners there". At first, the British are winning because they break the Russian line but as they begin their retreat they realise they have taken heavy casualties, show in the line, "then they rode back, but not the six hundred. In this verse, there is an example of the irregular rhyme. E.g. "flash'd all their sabres bare, flash'd as they turn'd in air" this has the effect of slowing the poem down. It is used because this is a key moment in the story and the poet wants to draw attention to it.
The fifth verse is about the British retreat. They are still surrounded by Russian cannons and as they draw back, they are being shot at all the time. He now uses the same metaphors and personification he used earlier for example "mouth of hell" and "jaws of death". This has the effect of drawing the battle to a close because they are leaving.
The final verse is about honouring the light brigade. He starts the stanza with a rhetorical question, "when can their glory fade?" this is to make the reader consider the brave men that died during the battle. Throughout the whole poem, the line "rode the six hundred" is repeated. This creates a strong effect in the last two stanzas because of all the soldiers that died.
In conclusion, I think it is clear that Tennyson believes war to be a glorious and noble thing. This is represented repeatedly in lines like "Honour the charge they made" and "noble six hundred". I think Tennyson is quite effective at getting his point of view across and he uses some very emotive lines such as "o the wild charge they made" and "honour the charge they made".
Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et decorum est" was written post 1914. Owen uses his traumatic experiences to portray the horrible truth of war. He wrote in a time when Jessie Pope, another poet, who used propaganda to convince people that war was just a game. He used horrific images, and harsh language to get his message across. Wilfred Owen fought in the war and saw many of his comrades massacred in gas attacks, bombings, and shootings.
Owen's use of Latin in his poem makes it more vivid and convincing. When writing "Dulce et Decorum Est. Pro patria mori" Translated means "sweet meet it is to die for one's country" it is obvious that he does not really believe this motto. The use of this Latin phrase is very respectable and an area of importance. Very different to the other words and images in the poem? This use of Latin shows Owen's intelligence and education, making his work more credible and believable. Tennyson tries to make his poem realistic by showing elements of discipline. He writes "their's not to make reply, their's not to reason why, theirs to do and die..." this discipline brings the poem to the sensible, down-to-earth level, making it more realistic. However, at the same time, it implies that the soldiers are very heroic, as they are prepared to die for their country.
The first verse shows the awful conditions in the trenches. The first simile Owen uses is "bent double, like old beggars under sacks". This is much unexpected, as an army are supposed to be smart and well dressed. I see that the soldiers are badly equipped, as "many have lost their boots, but limped on blood shod". This is also very surprising. I begin to imagine the pain and discomfort the soldiers must have been in as well as the constant fear of death. I can clearly imagine the dreadful trenches. Soldiers were "knock-kneed, coughing like hags..." and "all went lame and blind..." this shows that it affected everyone.
In the second verse colour is used to make the scene more vivid and 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 soldiers who have been gassed. He tells of the soldiers "hanging face", and compares it to a "devils sick of sin". This simile has the impact of suggesting that the soldiers were in so much agony, that the expression on his face is totally unimaginable, this is absolutely horrifying that someone can 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 that that soldier is coughing up because, at the time and still today, most people are terrified of the thought of the horrors of cancer. This helped to get across the images and horrors of war and the way people died. He uses immensely powerful and sickening words to represent the soldier who was being gassed. "he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning." The use of single words hits home the images. These words are not only disgusting, but are onomatopoeic. They sound like someone trying to breathe, but choking.
When Owen describes 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 appalling conditions and that it affect every aspect of soldiers' 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. In addition, there are many dead or dying people, as they have a wagon to carry them in they are dehumanising the injured so as they are not as affected by the death and suffering. This is also shown in Owen's poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth", which was also written about the First World War. In this other poem, Owen compares a traditional church funeral with the treatment of dead soldiers on the front line. In addition, comes out with the conclusion that soldiers, who die, often for nothing, receive no thanks, no respect and no acknowledgement when they are killed. In both of Owen's poems, the impression put across is one of absolute criticism of war and its morals.
Owen writes about the "white eyes writhing in his face...." This disgusting image gives an impression of how close the man is to death and by using "writhing", Owen conveys the man's agony and distress. He also writes about "vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues ...". This contains two very powerful words. "Incurable" implies that the wounds and effects 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. Another important phrase is "froth - corrupted lungs...." Owen is suggesting that war turns everything, which was good, to bad, immoral and spoiled. Other words which indicate pain, and create terrible images are "cursed", "haunting", "fatigue", "deaf", "clumsy", "yelling", "helpless", "plunges" and "gargling". These words are neither majestic nor enthusiastic but shockingly realistic.
Each poem portrays a different opinion or aspect of war. Writers without experience of the harshness of war tend to take war lightly, whereas Wilfred Owen shows that it is nothing like a game. 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 because describing the terrible effects of war on people would interfere with the heroic, noble atmosphere he is trying to create. Wilfred Owen's works shows the effects on him up to his death in 1917, relating to his experiences in the First World War. He condemns war and writes a small poem aside from his personal encounters. The poem reads: "in all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, chocking and drowning." I think this creates powerful, terrible images. 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.
By Nick thorogood
