A Comparison of November, 1806 (Wordsworth) to the Men of Kent (Wordsworth), Drummer Hodge (Hardy), and The Charge of the Light Brigade (Lord Alfred T

A Comparison of November, 1806 (Wordsworth) to the Men of Kent (Wordsworth), Drummer Hodge (Hardy), and The Charge of the Light Brigade (Lord Alfred Tennyson)

The themes in November, 1806; To the men of Kent; The Charge of the

Light Brigade; and Drummer Hodge are all war-based. They all contain

the themes of death, war and some sense of victory in that in both of

Wordsworth's poems, it is directly about the victory in a battle. In

Drummer Hodge, it is that his family shall never forget him. In The

Charge of the Light Brigade, it was about the bravery and gallantry of

the British Cavalry.

In The Charge of the Light Brigade, the setting is told in a footnote.

This places it in Balaklava where there was a war going on for

possession of Crimea between Russian forces and the English.

In Drummer Hodge, the setting is in South Africa as it is about a

drummer-boy who has died during the Boer War, which was between the

British and Dutch for the possession of Southern Africa.

To the Men of Kent has no setting but is written about the population

of Kent, Southern England who are asked to protect England from the

threat of invasion across the channel.

November, 1806 is set in Prussia. This is told to us by the footnote

at the bottom of the poem, which tells us that 'The Battle of Jena, on

14th October 1806, resulted in the complete over throw of Prussia by

the French under Napoleon'. The settings of these poems all involve

British me in some way, as it is either the British army ("The Charge

of the Light Brigade" and "Drummer Hodge") or the threat of Britain

being invaded by some one ("To the Men of Kent" and "November, 1806").

In The C...

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...ength in words, as it is not just any brow;

it is a 'haughty brow' meaning that it is tough. In line twelve, the

word "parleying" could be referring to the possible threat of invasion

from the French. In line twelve also, the words "Britain is in one

breath" could mean that the "Men of Kent" only have one chance to

defend Britain against the French. This makes the poem more jingoistic

as the British are now putting all their faith in the "men of Kent".

In November, 1806, in line seven, it says 'by our own right hands it

must be wrought' meaning that to do something right, you have to do it

yourself. This could also be referring to the fact that Victorian

society and, in fact, society up until the seventies, believed it

better to be right handed and left-handed children were encouraged to

write with their right hands.