Dulce et Decorum est
POETRY COURSE WORK This essay is to compare and contrast the differences and similarities in the poets' attitudes towards war and their opinions about war from the poems "Dulce et Decorum est" by Wilfred Owen and "Charge of the light brigade" by Alfred Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson was a poet who had never fought in wars or experienced it before but used his ideas for propaganda to lure people at home into wars. Some of his ideas were that it is sweet and fitting to die for your country in a war which Owen only uses as irony. This might affect Tennyson's view about war because he would never know the horrors and tragic moments war brings to the people, their families, etc. Unless he gets involved in a war, his views will remain the same and would not face reality. "When will their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! Honour the light brigade. Noble six hundred!" This can be described as irony which Alfred also uses to get people to fight in patriotic wars. Who needs glory when you are dead? Wilfred Owen was an officer in the British army, he was actually in the trenches and saw the horrors of the war. He wanted to tell people at home that wars or fighting in wars for your country is not good neither is it glorious. "Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud. Of vile, inuable sores on innocent tongues, my friend, you would tell which such high zest. The old lie: Dulce et
The Crimean War.
The Crimean War. 'At no time had the allied position in the Crimea been so clearly defined, or seemed so precarious, as when the Russian artillery with infantry support opened a ferocious and determined attack upon the Turkish redoubts, no more than two or three miles from the town of Balaclava.'1 This statement sums up the British position on the 25th October 1854. The allies had been marching towards the naval town of Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsular, a place strategically important to both the allies and their Russian opponents. However their position on a valley so close to the Russian fortresses, left them open to the surprise attack they finally suffered, as well as leaving the allies in a communications hole, without proper supplies or any real 'next step plans'. In short the allies were sitting ducks.2 They had bombarded the Russians since the 17th October with relentless daytime attacks on strategic sights, and in an attempt to drive the allies away the Russian forces settled on a surprise attack.3 Although the Russians 'won' the battle in terms of casualties, the allied position was actually strengthened by the capture of Russian artillery pieces, the nature of the attack, had made the allies less inclined to 'sleep on the job', and their movement towards Sevestapol increased. So although the contemporaries at the time saw that the battle was a defeat, with the
The Battle of the Somme - source related study.
The Battle of the Somme - GCSE History Coursework The Battle of the Somme was launched 1st July 1916 and has become infamous for its supposed futility. It was originally planned as a French offensive but the commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), General Sir Douglas Haig, soon took it on, he planned and orchestrated the battle but his tactics are still controversial almost 90 years on. The main aim was to relieve the French at Verdun. The German-launched offensive began 21st February 1916. The Germans had planned to capture the historic and sentimental town of Verdun and the surrounding forts, which restricted their defence. The battle continued until June with the Germans making a few, slow territorial gains. When the Battle of the Somme was launched, at the beginning of July, the Germans could no longer afford to fight two high-profile battles so they withdrew from Verdun. The attack was centred on the River Somme; the British and French troops were to attack stretches both North and South of the River. The battle began with a weeklong bombardment of the German front line before the British and French troops attacked, surprising the Germans. Unconcealed troop and armament movements ensured this was not a surprise. The Germans built reinforced dugouts and when the bombardment began they moved into them. The 1st July saw the official start of the battle, 11
The Charge of the Light Brigade.
The Charge of the Light Brigade -Andrew Philp- The poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson leaves a lasting vivid memory of the great British victory over the Russians at the battle of Balaklava. He makes the charge on the Russians memorable by the use of technical devices, which shows the courage and unquestionable loyalty of the men and the dangers, which they faced. Tennyson, in stanza one, creates a vivid picture of the soldiers charging into the valley where the Russians were awaiting the British soldiers. His descriptive techniques paint a clear image of the six hundred men of the Light Brigade as they charge into the valley where they most surely meet their doom: "Into the valley of death Rode the six hundred" The use of the metaphor helps to convey that the valley is where many men are soon to die. One of Tennyson's main points is the courage of the British troops: "Boldly they rode and well" I feel by using the adverb at the beginning of the sentence makes it very memorable. It emphasises the courage of the British soldiers. This act of bravery on behalf of the troops makes me feel proud about our long and war-riddled history. This sentence has an aura of passion and love for their country; it shows that even in the face of adversity they still managed to hold their heads high. The odds were against them. The danger they faced during
'The Charge Of The Light Brigade' - analysis
Michelle Blake THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE The second poem I an going to analyse is 'The Charge Of The Light Brigade', it is about the Crimean War. It is a famous Regiment of 600 men. The poem was written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The poem was based on a newspaper account describing a battle. The article glorified the slaughter of men. The commander didn't understand the orders given to him to replace some guns held by the Russians and he sent them up the wrong valley. All that had happened is "someone had blundered" even the soldiers knew that. On the first two lines the repetition of 'half a league'is getting the poem into a rhythm of galloping horses, This adds realism as the Light Brigade were a cavalry unit, and to emphasise the charge of the horse as it sounds like a charge. It seems the command was given for the soldiers to go to their death they knew this but they carried on to show that they would die for their country. The valley of death is a metaphor and imagery is used here. This tells you that the soldiers are going to their death and they know it. This describes what the valley was like. Forward the light brigade, this is direct speech and into the valley of death is where Tennyson is slowly building up repitition. On the second verse the second line is the most relevant one in this verse 'was their a man dismayed?' this is a rhetorical question
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" By Alfred, Lord Tennyson Background The war took place after Russia invaded Turkey to expand their empire. Turkey had an alliance with England and France, so we threatened Russia and she withdrew, but we attacked anyway, in 1854. The charge of the Light Brigade was in a Y-shaped valley. The British forces were at the top, the Russian Army was down the right arm and there were some unattended guns up the left arm. Lord Raglan was the overall commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Lord Lucan was in charge of the two Brigades in the valley and Lord Cardigan was in charge of the Light Brigade. Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan were stepbrothers and hated each other. The Light Brigade were the finest and most heavily trained unit in England, their real name was the 17th Lancers. Lord Raglan was sitting on top of a hill, well away from the coming battle, where he could see down both forks of the valley. In the left fork he could see some unattended cannon that might turn the battle in their favour. He ordered Lucan by way of Captain Nolan to advance into the valley and capture the cannon. Lucan, Cardigan and the Light Brigade were in the bottom of the valley and could not see up the left arm but could see the Russian cannon up the right arm, but unfortunately, couldn't see the Russian Army behind the Russian cannon. Lucan and Cardigan
English Short Story
English Short Story There is a class of events which by their very nature, and despite any intrinsic interest that they may possess, are foredoomed to oblivion. They are merged in the general story of those greater events of which they were a part, as the thunder of a billow breaking on a distant beach is unnoted in the continuous roar. To how many having knowledge of the battles of our Civil War does the name Pickett's Mill suggest acts of heroism and devotion performed in scenes of awful carnage to accomplish the impossible? Buried in the official reports of the victors there are indeed imperfect accounts of the engagement: the vanquished have not thought it expedient to relate it. It is ignored by General Sherman in his memoirs, yet Sherman ordered it. General Howard wrote an account of the campaign of which it was an incident, and dismissed it in a single sentence; yet General Howard planned it, and it was fought as an isolated and independent action under his eye. Whether it was so trifling an affair as to justify this inattention let the reader judge. The fight occurred on the 27th of May, 1864, while the armies of Generals Sherman and Johnston confronted each other near Dallas, Georgia, during the memorable "Atlanta campaign." For three weeks we had been pushing the Confederates southward, partly by maneuvering, partly by fighting, out of Dalton, out of Resaca,
Why did Britain win the Battle of Britain
Why did Britain win the Battle of Britain There are two phases to the Battle of Britain which contributed to their success in the Battle of Britain. On the 12th August 1940, the German airforce began its mass bomber attacks on British radar stations, aircraft factories and fighter airfields. During these raids radar stations and airfields were badly damaged and twenty-two RAF planes were destroyed. This attack was followed by daily raids on Britain. As a result of the effective range of the Luftwaffe, the battle was mainly fought over southern England. Fighter Command No. 11 and Fighter Command No. 12 protected this area. They also received support from the squadrons based in the eastern counties. Between 1st and 18th August the RAF lost 208 fighters and 106 pilots. The second half of the month saw even heavier losses and wastage now outstripped the production of new aircraft and the training of pilots to fly them. Those British pilots that did survive suffered from combat fatigue. During the Battle of Britain Trafford Leigh-Mallory came into conflict with Keith Park, the commander of No. 11 Fighter Group. Park, who was responsible for the main approaches southeast of London, took the brunt of the early attacks by the Luftwaffe. The climax of the Battle of Britain came on the 30th-31st August 1940. The British lost 50 aircraft compared to the Germany's 41. The RAF were
Why did Britain win the battle of Britain?
Why did Britain win the battle of Britain? Following the British evacuation from Dunkirk and the French surrender in June 1940, the Germans were uncertain what to do next. Hitler believed the war was over and that the British, defeated on the continent, would come to terms soon. However, he was to be frustrated by British intransigence. Though there was a strand of public and political sentiment that favoured a negotiated peace with Germany, Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, refused to countenance an armistice with the Nazis. His skillful use of rhetoric hardened public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British for a long war. In a speech to the House of Commons on 18 June 1940 he stated: "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin." Britain's rejection of German terms was emphatic. In an effort to finish the war in the West, Hitler ordered preparation of an invasion plan on 16 July. He hoped to frighten Britain into peace before the invasion was launched and used the invasion preparations as a means to apply pressure. The plan was prepared by the OKW (Armed Forces High Command). The operation, code-named Seelöwe (Sealion), was planned for mid-September 1940 and called for landings on Britain's south coast, backed by an airborne assault. All preparations were to be made by
War Poems
"Grand Old Duke of York" by Anonymous This famous nursery rhyme has an interesting history. This poem has remained anonymous since the 15th Century. It was written during the War of The Roses between York, the White Rose, and Lancaster, the Red Rose. The poem has obviously been designed by either someone who supported Lancaster or didn't have any respect for York because there is no trace of a positive remark about the Duke of York. Over time, the reality of the writer's view has been lost and the once bias poem has become a popular nursery rhyme. Not much detail has been put into the poem as the basic plot is the Duke of York leads his men up and down a hill, having no purpose whatsoever, which makes this a perfect candidate for young children to get used to and memorise. There are several features of the language which help the reader get used to the poem. Firstly, the poem has a very regular metre that matches the soldiers marching in sync and rhythm. Another point is the regular rhyme scheme fitting in with the soldiers repeating their actions and doing the same thing all the time. The repetition is mildly hypnotic for the soldiers as the marching is supposed to push them into a fighting mood but with simple movements, the writer evidently thought that York had small limits and couldn't change their simplicity. A further aspect is the total omission of blood,
