GCSE War Poem
“The Charge of the Light Brigade” and “For the Fallen”, are both poems
about war. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” written by Alfred
Tennyson on 14th November 1854, describes an event in the Crimean
war. Britain and France were concerned that Russia may power
southwards, so they attacked Russia at Balaclava. “For the Fallen,”
was written by Laurence Binyon on September 1914, during the war with
the intention of showing the reader the reality of war, in particular,
Binyon takes a non-biased approach, demonstrating positive and
negative consequences, of dying for one’s country.
The two poems are similar because in both, the soldiers are brave and
prepared when going to war and portray the soldiers as heroes. The
differences are “For the Fallen” was written in the past tense and
“Charge of the Light Brigade” is written in the present. In addition,
Tennyson’s poem has a lot of action in it but Binyon’s poem is a view
of soldiers after they die. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is
about 600 men who charged into an ambush of Russian and Cossack
cannons. This happened because the commander mistook orders and told
the men to charge into the Russian main base. Over two-thirds of the
soldiers die, while in the midst of battle. Binyon’s poem is about
men who all die in war. Binyon compares their lives to what they
would be like if they had lived and how their deaths are regarded by
other people.
The first stanza of Tennyson’s poem creates an image of horses
galloping forward:
“Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward”
Repetition reflects exhaustion because it is laborious. The next line
tells the reader that the Light Brigade are the ones who are going to
be defeated:
“All in the valley of death”,
By using a metaphor, which exaggerates a point, Tennyson is
emphasising the fact that they are going to lose. The poet shows how
he feels towards the soldiers. He is feeling bravery and stupidity
for the Light Brigade. Bravery because no soldier turned back and
rode away and no one questioned the command, “Charge for the guns”.
He shows the stupidity by repeating “Valley of death”, because the
soldiers are riding to death and Tennyson is commenting on the lack
of questioning to an irrational command.
In stanza three, the Light Brigade are in the peak of battle.
Repetition of “Cannon” all around them creates a picture of an
ambush. In the next two lines the cannons are firing fiercely.
Tennyson uses alliteration to emphasize the impact the cannons are
having.
“Stormed at with shot ad shell”
First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language.
Portrayal of War in the Pre 1900 Poetry Before 1900, war was always seen as a glorious thing. People truly believed in the words of the ancient writer Horace, "Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori. " This phrase can be translated, as "It is a lovely and honourable thing; to die for one's country". Pre 1900 war poetry was strongly patriotic and glossed over the grim reality of death, preferring instead to display the heroic aspects of fighting. If death was mentioned, it was only in a noble and glorious context.
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
The Piano, The Tyger, War Photographer, The Lamb, In Mrs Tilscher’s Class, The Early Purges
A. Philip Randolph was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and once said “Freedom is never given; It is won.” Our American soldiers fight every day so we can stay free and have the privileges we have today. We do not just get to be free. There are people fighting for our freedom. However, the poem and the song both talk about fighting for freedom but they have a separate motive. Both the poem named “Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?” by Langston Hughes and the song “American Soldier” by Toby Keith both have the same theme by freedom is worth fighting for and everyone wants freedom, but in the poem the soldier is fighting for freedom and in the song the soldier already has freedom.
It took about an hour to climb to the top of the mountain because the higher we got, the steeper it was and the more challenging it got to climb because of the loose gravel and rocks. Once we reached the top of the mountain we sat down on the floor to eat some hot Cheetos and drink some of our Gatorade. After catching our breath, we began to take pictures and we saw a skunk on the opposite side of the mountain away from the park. We had never seen a skunk before so we were eager to take a picture with it. As we began our journey down towards the skunk, there was a huge rock on the edge of the mountain that I wanted to stand on and take a picture so that I could capture the beautiful scenery in the background. Smiley wanted to take the same picture as well but when he stood on the rock, it tilted over and rolled down the mountain along with my brother. He was holding the lantern when he fell so I no longer had any light. The only light source available was the screen on my phone and the flash on the camera. The first thing I did was take a picture of the bottom of the mountain to see where my brother was at. To his luck, he only suffered a broken leg. So he wouldn’t think about the pain,
‘The Falling Soldier’ is one of many poems by Duffy which deals with the subject of human mortality. Duffy expresses what could have been over a harsh reality; this is characteristic of her as also seen in ‘Last Post’ and ‘Passing Bells’ which both seem to be largely influenced by poet peer Wilfred Owen’s personal experiences of war. In the ‘The Falling Soldier’ Duffy paradoxically captures the essence of Robert Capa’s famous photograph of a man falling after being shot during the Spanish Civil War (1936). She employs the form of an impersonal narrative voice, using second person to question the possibilities, to explore the tragic and cyclical nature of war. The futile reality of war contrasts to her central theme in ‘The Bees’ anthology of bees symbolising the grace left in humanity.
Tennyson’s poetry is renowned for reflecting a penetrating introspection and meditative expressiveness unsurpassed by other poets of his time. His explorations into a vast breadth of topics ranging from the political to the deeply personal reflect his multifarious enthusiasms, and his ability to reach out to his readers as well as probe the depths of psychological expression. ‘The Lady of Shalott’ and ‘Mariana’, two of his earliest poems, exemplify this ability to communicate internal states of mind through his use of scenery.
Considered the leading English poet of the First World War, Owen is remembered for realistic poems depicting the horrors of war, which were inspired by his experiences at the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. Owen considered the true subject of his poems to be "the pity of war," and attempted to present the true horror and realities of battle and its effects on the human spirit. His unique voice, which is less passionate and idealistic than those of other war poets, is complemented by his unusual and experimental style of writing. He is recognized as the first English poet to successfully use pararhyme, in which the rhyme is made through altered vowel sounds. Owen’s distinct way of both writing and reading poems led to influence other poets in the 1920s and 1930s.
Satire is a balanced combination of sarcasm, irony, humor, and rhetorical devices that all focus on mocking or ridiculing certain works. In “The War Prayer” by Mark Twain and “The Battle of the Ants” by Henry David Thoreau, both short works satire the glorification of war. In comparison, “The War Prayer” revolves around jingoism by displaying traces of shock, hyperbole and a juxtaposing tone; whereas “The Battle of the Ants” exhibits a historical background through sarcasm, verisimilitude, and a mock-heroic tone.
To begin with, Tennyson was a strong nationalistic poet and he was well educated in the field of politics. He expressed his opinions and preferences concerning political matters. For example, he was not in favour of despotic rule and Marjorie Reeves explains that, “As a student he [Tennyson] was strongly political and his sympathies lay with European Nationalist pulsing against despotic rule” (152). In 1850, Tennyson was appointed The Poet Laureate of England and reflected very patriotic views in ...
The poem is about... ... middle of paper ... ... Again the The difference between the two poems is that Tennyson uses his words to show what's actually happening, Byron cuts far harsher by showing what. The prisoner is missing and thus plunging his life further and further.
Strong, brave, and powerful are usually the words that come to mind when you think of a traditional war hero. In Tim O’Brien’s novel he uses war heroes that aren’t what people usually imagine when they think of a war hero. They are straight out of high school, and most of the soldiers in his novel are cowards. They are scared of going into the war and even when they have a chance to save one of their friends they just let them die. Not using traditional war heroes allowed Tim O’Brien to show that not all heroes are heroic and courageous, and that they were just normal people going into a war they didn’t understand.
Tennyson's poetry has stood the test of time because it successfully paints a time and place and reflects the feelings of the people in it. His ability to capture the feelings of uncertainty and loss that were characteristic of this time period, through his use of descriptions, diction, and pathetic fallacy made his poetry not only pleasing to the ear, but also historically important. He surpassed Wordsworth and other poets of his generation as Poet Laureate because his poems capture the important social issues of the Victorian Age such as the shift in religious belief as a result of science, the confusion surrounding women's roles in society, and the isolation that came as a result of the rapid social and economical changes that occurred.
...ecurrent and startling as those of phrasing. Donne experiments with rhythmical effect a he does with conceits and words. The thought in his poetry is not the primary concern but the feeling. It is this very feeling , a delight in his conceits, and a new understanding of what the conceit is expressing and teaching, that he successfully imparts in his readers. The central theme of his poetry is his own intense personal dispositions, as a lover, a friend, a psychoanalyst of his own experiences, worldly and religious. Classical poetry cannot unify these experiences; it is John Donne’s use of the metaphysical that allows him to present his poetry as a whole experience, and to show feelings as they are. This technique proves him not only successful in teaching and delighting audience, but achieving both so effectively that they have the ability to affect readers deeply.