“Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell.” This metaphor creates a strong image of success being far from the Light Brigade’s capabilities and it seems there is no hope. The idea of the valley being a mouth is played upon with the ‘jaws of death’ containing teeth that are the cannons and guns that will be firing at the soldiers the valley is the jaw of the mouth. This makes it seem as the men will be swallowed and there is no return for them.
The language used in the poem is easy to follow with words kept simple and the use of monosyllabic words to keep the pace up and to make it easier to read. Onomatopoeias and the repetition of metaphors create all the imagery used in this poem. Lines such as, “Volley’d and thunder’d” give powerful pictures of a chaotic scene with gunfire and shells going off all around the charging soldiers and their horses. The word ‘death’ is also used a fair amount of times in the poem and is a constant reminder of how things end for those unfortunate enough to be killed.
The purpose of the poem, written by Lord Tennyson, is not to blame anyone for the misfortune of the lines getting ‘crossed’ with the commanders and soldiers, but instead it is an attempt to remember and glorify the six hundred who battled valiantly to recapture their guns and is a mark of respect to those who gained the honour of the British by fighting and dying for their country. Lord Tennyson’s views on war appear to be those of a man who believes to battle is a noble and honourable thing to do. The way the poem is written is factual and offers no sign of a personal relation with the poet and actually fighting. It is reported speech with added emphasis to increase the glory of the six hundred who were surrounded, yet against all odds came back successful. Lord Tennyson uses simply structured sentences to raise the ideas of how people should think of the soldiers, it gives the impression of them being silent before they charged as they knew what was in store for them but they willingly accepted it for their country. “Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die.” Tennyson also uses rhetorical questions to emphasise the bravery of the men, “Was there a man dismay’d?” and “When can their glory fade?” Finally, Lord Tennyson, calls for us to remember the six hundred, “Honour the charge they made, Honour the Light Brigade, Noble Six hundred!”
“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a totally different poem from “The Charge of the Light Brigade” and it strives to get the message across by using shocking and sickening images of death to prove this.
Whereas both poems are written about wars this one is from a time when weapons were far more sophisticated and more gruesome than possibly thought at the time. From the first lines of the poem the difference is immediately obvious. The first thing that strikes the reader is the lack of spirit in the people being described. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.” This simile makes the soldiers seem weak and tired and doesn’t give the impression of brave honourable fighting men, unlike in the Charge of the Light Brigade. ‘Knock-kneed’ and ‘coughing like hags’ are ways in which the soldiers are described, thus appearing to have no dignity. The writer of the poem, Wilfred Owen, relates himself to the suffering of the men when he uses the word ‘we’. This gives an indication that, as an eyewitness, what is written will be true and the chance that he is lying is minimal due to the graphic content in the poem. In the first verse the language is used to create a very dark picture with words that sound dull and heavy, such as, ‘sludge’ and ‘trudge’.
There is a sense that the men gave up caring a long time ago, “Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, but limped on.” The poem has an affect on the reader and creates a lot of dark images of tired, beaten men slowly staggering their way to nowhere and nothingness in the hope of finding somewhere to rest. They seem to be surrounded by darkness in a surreal atmosphere with the sounds of distant gunfire and explosions echoing.
The pace of the poem then picks up as the soldiers, under attack, would themselves speed up. There is an alert as a gas shell is dropped and the sudden life of the poem and drastic need for safety heighten what was, previously, a dull atmosphere. The sudden panic and hurry for the gas masks is brought out in the light more with the clever use of words usually associated with someone who is struggling or needs help; “An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And floundering like a man in fire or lime.”
The language is strong in this poem creating disturbing images of a man dying and the way his body is discarded like a piece of meat. A simile likening the man’s death in the gas with that of someone drowning is used and is a powerful way of creating sorrow. With the use of language in the poem nobody could argue that the writer was actually at the scene; he shows that he possibly feels some guilt for the death of a fellow soldier as he mentions that death is in all his dreams and the dying man is ‘plunging’ at him in one last desperate attempt to be saved.
In “The Charge of the Light Brigade” the soldiers’ deaths were portrayed as full of honour and for a worthwhile cause. In this poem there is no trace of dignity in death and there doesn’t seem to be any reason for why this was happening.
In both poems the last verses were used as a contact link between the writer and the reader and in this poem a personal message is delivered that tries to get the reader to see how bad the conditions of war are. There is no mention of victory, glory or honour. The conditions of the dying and dead men are said to be so bad that even the devil would turn away in disgust. The state of the dead is said to be as ‘obscene as cancer’ which is bad as it can be. Sickening images of blood and parts of the inside of the body are brought to life in the death of those said to be innocent of these conditions, which emphasises how bad war can be.
These two poems create very different scenes. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a story of a glorious battle in which the outnumbered British Light Brigade took on world renowned, bloodthirsty troops, the Cossacks. No blame is placed on anyone for starting this war and there are no scenes of death or mentions of wounds. It is a poem written by a Lord who hadn’t been in the battle and was trying to show everyone how great the British were with stories of their great victory even when they had to enter the ‘Mouth of Hell’. There is no reality of the battlefield. Simple language and repetition is used to convey Lord Tennyson’s view of war as a great joy to behold, and that the best way for a man to die is for his country.
Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” could not contradict this any more than it already does. He outlines the harsh reality of the situation to make people see the suffering of the front line troops and all they had to go through. Graphic scenes of death and disposal of the bodies are described to emphasise that ‘It is a sweet and beautiful thing to die for your country’ is in fact “The old Lie”. Owen clearly makes his point that the needless death of the soldiers in terrible conditions is something that children should not be persuaded is a good thing.
These poems portray different views on war and I prefer Dulce and Decorum Est. The poem seems more real and lifelike, rather then The Charge of the Light Brigade. The poem by Owen has not changed my view on war as I already had the same view as him, i.e. that war is pointless, but I also agree that it needs to happen to protect the country’s pride and honour. I think war poetry should portray a lifelike view of what actually happens in war. They should not try to cover up and small details but should strive to tell the truth and give all detail; however gruesome. My view on both poems is that they are well written but I prefer “Dulce et Decorum Est”.
