There are lots of poetic techniques used in the poem: Repetition ‘Cannon to the left of them, Cannon to the right of them, Cannon in front of them’. Rhythm. Alliteration ‘world wondered’. Personification ‘jaws of death’. Repetition ‘shell-fell-well-hell’. Rule of three ‘Cannon to the left of them, Cannon to the right of them, Cannon in front of them’. Emotive language ‘all that was left of them’. Sibilance ‘shot and shell’. These all contribute to making the poem so powerful and emotive.
The structure of the poem is short, powerful stanzas (1-2) at the beginning. Then long descriptive, but fast paced stanzas (3-4) in the middle. Then to end more short powerful stanzas (5-6). The first two stanzas introduce the poem and hints about how noble they were. The middle stanzas describe when they charge at the Russians and how they ‘boldly rode’ to battle. Then the last stanzas are about the aftermath and we should ‘honour the charge they made’ and ‘when can their glory fade’.
Drummer Hodge
Drummer Hodge is about a young naïve boy who died fighting for something he didn’t understand ‘unknown plain’ this quote I think sums up the poem as the drummer is buried somewhere he had never been before and left. This poem also talks very negative about war but positive about the soldier’s effort and determination.
The poetic techniques used in this poem are, rhyme ‘around-mound’. Personification ‘strange-eyed’. Alliteration ‘strange stars’. Emotive language ‘uncoffined-just as found’. Sibilance ‘strange stars’. These techniques make this poem dramatic and sad.
The structure of the poem is all the stanzas are straight forward but powerful. The power of the poem comes from individual words like ‘foreign’ and ‘unknown’ these words show how neglected Drummer Hodge is even though he fought for something that didn’t concern him.
This poem can also relate to later wars (WW1 and 2) as many soldiers went to war being very young and naïve.
A Wife in London
A wife in London was written by the same poet as Drummer Hodge but the two poems are very different from each other, they are from completely different points of view (Drummer Hodge- Reporters View and A Wife in London – Family’s view).
The poem is about a soldier’s wife who is at home waiting for him to come back from war. A messenger comes to the house and gives the wife flashed news (telegram) that says her husband has died fighting in the war. The next day the postman comes and delivers a letter from her husband which sated how much he loved her, he would be home soon and what they would do when he got back.
This poem shows that it’s not just hard for the soldiers; the family are affected a lot as well.
The structure of the poem is short stanzas with pauses and emphasis on the sadness ‘he has fallen’.
The language used in the poem is very emotive, dramatic and sad. Poetic techniques used are rhyme ‘fold-cold’. Alliteration and sibilance ‘She sits’. Emotive Language ‘hoped return’. These all make the poem so sad and dramatic.
Comparison
The structure of Drummer Hodge and A wife in London are very similar; they both have short powerful stanzas whereas the charge of the light brigade has longer, more descriptive stanzas in the middle (3-4). Drummer Hodge and a wife in London are similar probably because they are both written by the same poet and it also explains why they are both so dramatic.
The Charge of the Light Brigade and Drummer Hodge are both very war negative but they both glorify the soldier’s effort and patriotism. They are similar as they are both from a reporter’s point of view.
All the poems are very similar to ‘Hyenas’ as there are short powerful stanzas but also descriptive stanzas. Also all the poems are very emotive due to the techniques used. All three poems contain short powerful stanzas but the charge of the light brigade also has descriptive stanzas which the other two don’t.
Conclusion
In my findings the poems have lots of similarities and differences but one thing that links them together is war and how it is very destructive physically and emotionally and it shouldn’t be happening at all.
