I think kipling has done this deliberately to show the public their hypocrisy. It shows the public who believe they are patriotic that they have ignored the fate of those who have fought for their country.
Both poems do show internal contrasts but I think the biggest contrast is between the two poems. Tennyson writes of the heroism that he believes “The Light Brigade” deserve.
He calls them “The Noble Six hundred” which he obviously believes they deserve to be called. Kipling on the other hand tells of how Tennyson’s words have damaged the soldiers.
He says: “And he wrote for them wonderful verses that swept the land like flame”.
I think Kipling uses the word “flame” as it has many different connotations. I think Kipling uses it as it spreads very quickly, causing a lot of damage just as Tennyson’s words have.
I think the strongest contrast is between the poems. One main contrast between the poems is the way each author describes the Light Brigade.
Tennyson uses words such as “noble”, “heroic” and “honourable” to describe the Light Brigade. Whereas Kipling describes them as “shambling” and “starving”. They both paint very contrasting pictures.
I think that Tennyson may have been trying to build the Light Brigade as herpes. The words he uses portray the Light Brigade as someone you would want to be proud of.
Kipling on the other hand describes the Light Brigade as
“Limping, lean and forlorn.”
He uses this I believe as it almost gives a sense of how the soldiers are moving. He does this with the use of tripling, I believe he may do this to show the extent of their difficulties. I also believe Kipling may have used alliteration of the letter “l” to give us a sense of how the soldiers now looked. I think that he uses the letter “l” as it is a tall, skinny almost gangly letter.
Kipling also describes the Light Brigade as a “desolate little cluster.” This is once again in contrast to Tennyson’s poem as he describes them as a charging army which In my opinion gives an impression of a well organised group.
I think Kipling uses the term “ desolate little cluster.” As I think it gives an impression that the remaining survivors are almost huddling together for safety as a flock of penguins would do stay warm.
I think as well as using words to describe the armies and give a sense of how they looked I think that both the poets do this rhythmically, using the length of line to create a rhythm that portrays the Light Brigade in their movement and attitudes. This is seen as Tennyson uses short lines and rhyming couplets to create a sense of rhythm. I think that Tennyson does this to enact the rhythm of the horses galloping into battle.
Another contrast between the two poems is Kipling uses long and drawn out lines and vowel sounds I think to show how the soldiers lives have now become. The soldiers are no longer riding into battle but their lives are just dragging on like the lines in the poem. I think the length of the lines may also have been used to give an idea of the length of suffering the soldiers may have gone through.
Another way I believe in which Kipling shows how the soldiers live have become predictable, is by using rhyming couplets, because just as the soldiers lives have, they become predictable.
Another thing that I believe represents the soldiers slowed down lifestyles is the lines 14-16.
“To look for the master-singer who had crowned them all in
Song;
And, waiting his servants order, by the garden gate they
Stayed,
A desolate little cluster, the last of the Light Brigade.”
I think these lines represent the Light Brigade’s slower lifestyles best as they have many syllables which create a slow rhythm, slow, just like the Light Brigades lives have become.
As well as using line and length to create a sense of rhythm, both authors also use also use rhyme to create rhythm. Tennyson uses rhyming couplets to create a rhythm, a similar rhythm to that of a galloping horse riding into battle.
This is shown firstly in the first two lines
Tennyson says: “Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward.”
I think this is a very effective way of conversing to the reader a sense of the battle scene. Although it is not a regular rhyme all the way through as this would not convey the unpredictability of war.
In a similar way Kipling uses rhyming couplets which help paint a picture of how the soldiers now are. It is predictable just like the soldier’s lives have become. Each verse is an example of this as they all use rhyming couplets.
This is not the only way the authors try to give us a sense of what things are like
In the “Charge of the Light Brigade.” Tennyson uses both alliteration and repetition to create a sense of the battle.
An example of the alliteration that Tennyson uses is seen when he writes. “Storm’d at with shot and shell.”
The repetition of the “s” sound creates the sound of the ammunition whistling through the air and around the soldier’s heads. This gives us a sense of the chaotic battlefield.
Tennyson also uses alliteration and repetition to put forward a point. This is shown when he writes.
“Half a league, half a league, half a league onward.”
This emphasises how the soldiers kept trying and trying to move forward even though they faced very little chance of survival. I think this is one of the ways in which Tennyson made the “Light Brigade” look like heroes. Tennyson uses repetition on many other occasions to show how heroic the soldiers were.
Another example of this is when Tennyson writes
“Into the valley of death
Rode the six hundred.”
These lines emphasise the bravery of the six hundred men who went into “The valley of death” the repeated use of the image highlights how it was almost a certainty that they would die. When Tennyson writes how heroic the Light Brigade was he does his best to avoid mentioning the mistake that was made. This is shown, as Tennyson does not repeat the line
“But not, not the six hundred.”
This line does suggest the amount of casualties but is only skimmed over.
In contrast to this Tennyson uses repetition to reinforce his own message, Tennyson writes
“Honour the charge they made,
Honour the light brigade.”
The poet reinforces his message, which is that the “Light Brigade.” Should be respected for the heroism and self-sacrifice.
In comparison to Tennyson, Kipling writes to suggest the problems that the soldiers now face. This is first seen when Kipling describes the soldiers as
“Limping and lean and forlorn.”
As well as contributing to the rhythm of the poem, this line creates a sense of the soldier’s desperate situation.
I think that these words are used to describe the appearance of the soldiers. It almost suggests that the “Light Brigade.” Have become tired, maybe even tired of life. They are described as limping, which may suggest that they are hobbling on through life. The alliteration of the letter “l” may suggest the emaciated shape the soldiers now have. The letter “l” may have been used as it is a tall, skinny letter just like the soldier’s appearance.
Another example of the alliteration that Kipling uses is seen when he writes
“Shiftless soldiers.”
The word “shiftless” has many possible meanings. In my opinion I believe that in this case it means the soldiers are now out of work, which means they no longer have a shift to work on. Another possible meaning in this case in my opinion is that “shiftless” may mean that the soldiers are managing to get along by any means possible. I think the reason for the use of the letter “S” in this piece of alliteration may be because it is a soft sound. I think Kipling may use a soft sound as it suggests pity this is in contrast to the writing of Tennyson as he writes to make the reader see the soldiers as heroic, whereas Kipling wants us to pity the soldiers.
Kipling also repeats the line “Thirty million English”
The repetition of this line highlights how many people had forgotten the survivors. I believe Kipling does this to make the reader pity the survivors which once again is a contrast to what Tennyson wants us to feel.
Another technique which both authors use is with the use of speech. This is seen when Tennyson writes “Was there a man dismay’d?”
Tennyson uses a rhetorical question to engage the reader in the poems purpose, and provoke them into thinking through what the answer would be. In this case , it is implied that no one was put off going into battle even though they were aware “someone had blundered.”
This may make the readers ask themselves if this is truly heroic or just plain stupid?
I’m not sure if this is how Kipling intended, as he wants to portray the soldiers as heroic.
Tennyson also asks another rhetorical question, he asks
“When can their glory fade?”
In this case the question implies that the soldiers were so heroic that their glory could never possibly fade this is another contrast to Kipling’s poem as in Kipling’s poem the soldiers glory has already faded.
Kipling also uses speech in his poem. The first example of this speech that we see is when Kipling writes
“Beggin your pardon
You wrote ………. Please write we are starving now.”
This is the voice of the individual soldier it gives us an idea of his character. We can begin to paint a picture of how the soldiers were. In this case we get the impression that the soldiers were very polite and proud but seemed to be very desperate.
There is a reply to this speech within the poem. It comes in the “wonderful verses” that chastised the nation for its hypocrisy.
This is in contrast to Tennyson who only writes his speech in rhetorical questions have no reply.
Both authors also use imagery in their writing. Tennyson uses the image of the “The valley of Death.” I think Tennyson uses this image as “The valley of Death” is like a place of no return just like the battlefield is a place of no return. It may also be used as it has connotations that there is no return from death.
This is not the only time that Tennyson writes to create an image. Another example is seen when Tennyson writes
“Into the jaws of death
Into the mouth of hell.”
I think that Tennyson writes this as the battlefield is personified through the description of it having “jaws” and a “mouth.” This may be to suggest that once the soldiers have entered the battle they may be surrounded or in this case consumed. Also the word “Hell” may have been used as it has many connotations, which are all negative such as a place of torment, or pain or suffering. This may be used to try to give the reader an idea of how the battlefield is.
Kipling also uses imagery in his writing an example of this is when he writes about the “Mouth of hell.” I don’t believe that Kipling uses the line in the same context as Tennyson but may well of been using the word “Hell” for the same reasons, but Kipling does not try to describe the battlefield. In my opinion the “Mouth of hell” is used to describe the workhouses where I believe the soldiers were living.
Another image which Kipling uses is seen when he writes “Swept the land like flame.” This simile describes Tennyson’s words as flame as flames spread very quickly and cause much damage just as Tennyson’s words have done for the soldiers.
Both authors also use exclamation marks in their writing, an example of this is seen in Tennyson’s writing when he writes
“O the wild charge they made!”
In this case I believe that Tennyson uses exclamation marks to emphasise a strong emotion which I believe in this case is a sense of amazement at the unbelievable command that was given.
Kipling also uses exclamation marks in his writing there are two examples of this. The first is seen when Kipling writes
“And the thirty million English sent twenty
Pounds and four!”
Once again the exclamation ark is used to emphasise a strong emotion and similar to Tennyson, Kipling has used it to emphasise his disgust at the lack of response that the soldiers got after their desperate plea to the public.
The second example is when he writes
“And we leave the streets and the workhouse
The charge of the Light Brigade!”
This exclamation mark has been used once again to emphasise emotion, the emotion in this case is the sense of outrage that the soldiers have now been neglected.
I think in all there are many contrasts between the poems. There are also many internal contrasts. I believe that both poets have similar techniques and both meant well when they were writing their poems.
The major contrast between the two poems is the way the soldiers are perceived. In Tennyson’s poem the soldiers are perceived as noble heroes but in Kipling’s poem they are perceived as helpless, this is the major contrast between the two poems.
I think that Kipling’s writing is more powerful because the soldiers are described in a more dramatic manner. Kipling describes the soldiers better mentally and physically and helps the reader get an idea of how the soldier’s personalities are.
I do believe that Tennyson’s writing is also powerful but I also prefer Kipling’s writing.
