How is War Presented in "The Charge Of the Light Brigade" and "Dulce Et Decorum Est"?
How is War Presented in "The Charge Of the Light Brigade" and "Dulce Et Decorum Est"?
Alfred Lord Tennyson and Wilfred Owen present war in completely different ways in The Charge Of the Light Brigade and Dulce Et Decorum Est.
One main difference that stands out to the reader is that Dulce Et Decorum Est just focuses on one single soldier, which reaches the reader on a more personal level. This brings the reader more 'into' the poem and they can really feel the emotion portrayed in the poem. Rather than focussing on just one soldier, Tennyson refers to the Army - "The six hundred." This brings across a much more powerful feeling, and the reader doesn't feel the emotion of each and every soldier therefore a more positive outlook is taken upon the war in The Charge Of the Light Brigade.
In contrast to the positive atmosphere created in The Charge Of the Light Brigade, Wilfred Owen takes a very negative outlook on the war, and this is shown in Dulce Et Decorum Est by the emotive language used: "Limped on, blood-shod." This brings the reader closer to the soldier and they can feel more sympathy for him. Making the reader feel sorry for the soldier brings a negative outlook to the war, as the reader is picturing the torture that they must have gone through.
In contrast to this, Tennyson looks at the positive aspect of the war, and focuses on not giving up - "Forward the Light Brigade!" The reader sees this as a positive thing, as they all have their hearts set on winning the war. Referring to the 'Army' as a whole, rather than focusing on one single soldier makes the soldiers seem distant, therefore the reader doesn't feel sympathy for them and a negative feel is not brought into the poem. By the positive attitude portrayed in The Charge of the Light Brigade, the soldiers seem to be more ...
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In contrast to this, Tennyson looks at the positive aspect of the war, and focuses on not giving up - "Forward the Light Brigade!" The reader sees this as a positive thing, as they all have their hearts set on winning the war. Referring to the 'Army' as a whole, rather than focusing on one single soldier makes the soldiers seem distant, therefore the reader doesn't feel sympathy for them and a negative feel is not brought into the poem. By the positive attitude portrayed in The Charge of the Light Brigade, the soldiers seem to be more disciplined as they don't seem to care about how they feel, they just care about winning. This makes the reader see the soldiers as heroes, as all they are focussing on is winning, they don't mind having to fight (and possibly die) for their country.
However, in Dulce Et Decorum Est the soldiers have a negative outlook to war, so the reader can't look upon them as being heroes, as it is almost as if the soldiers are complaining about having to fight for their country, "Bent double, like old beggars." From this we can see that Wilfred Owen is using "Beggars" as a way of describing the soldiers. This is an insult to the soldiers, as it is saying that they are not socially dignified, they are not worth anything.
Alfred Lord Tennyson uses rhyme consistently throughout The Charge Of the Light Brigade. For example, "Brigade, Dismay'd", "Why, Die." This brings across a sense of order, and suggests organisation of the troops. Also, in The Charge Of the Light Brigade the stanzas are of a similar, consistent length, which suggests a powerful, organised atmosphere.
In comparison to Tennyson, Owen does not use similarly lengthed stanzas. The first and second stanzas are relatively long, and then come a short, sharp dramatic sentence, followed by another long paragraph.
The short paragraph in the middle really stands out to the reader:
"In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning."
Because of the powerful, emotive language used, and the fact that it is isolated from the rest of the poem, this sentence really draws attention from the reader. I think the layout of Dulce Et Decorum Est is purposefully set out as it is, as it represents the struggle that the soldier has to face. The first two paragraphs are of similar length, which represents the organised troops going off to war. The short stanza in the middle represents the fact that something can go wrong so suddenly, but they have to keep going no matter what, which is shown by the ending paragraph which is long and flowing.
At the end of Dulce Et Decorum Est, Owen addresses the reader at a personal level; "My friend." From this we can see that he is really trying to reach across to the reader, and portray his point of view. The finale to Dulce Et Decorum Est reads: "Dulce Et Decorum Est pro patria mori" which translates as "It is sweet and fitting to die for your country." This is using dramatic irony, as in the poem nothing seems sweet or fitting - it seems harsh and unreasonable. Wilfred Owen was involved in the war, and I think that he is trying to tell the reader what it is really like, and it is nothing like people think. The title, Dulce Et Decorum Est is the attitude that people at home take towards war, as they have never experienced it for themselves. For example, Alfred Lord Tennyson was not involved in war and yet he takes a positive attitude towards it, proving that until people experience it, they don't know what it's really like - which is what Wilfred Owen stresses in Dulce Et Decorum Est.
Unlike in The Charge Of the Light Brigade, Owen uses "You" in Dulce Et Decorum Est which makes it more direct and personal and brings the reader 'into' the poem.
Alfred Lord Tennyson uses repetition throughout The Charge Of the Light Brigade: "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward." This emphasises the fact that Tennyson is stressing that the soldiers have to keep on going "onward."
Instead of using repetition, Wilfred Owen uses alliteration; "Watch the white eyes writhing," and onomatopoeia: "deaf to even the hoots."
In conclusion, I think that the main difference in the way that war is presented in The Charge Of the Light Brigade and Dulce Et Decorum Est is that Wilfred Owen was involved in war, and therefore he knows first-hand what war is like, and is writing from experience. In comparison to Wilfred Owen's attitude, Alfred Lord Tennyson writes his poem with a positive point of view, as he has not been involved in war and therefore has not experienced first-hand what the soldiers have to go through.
