Six War Poems and the Theme of War

883 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: War poem analysis

The first poem i will be discussing is The charge of the light Brigade. Written by Alfred, Lord, Tennyson in 1854. The poem is about the battle of Balaclava in the crimean war which was between Russia on one side and England, France and turkey on the other. The poem is also about battles and the deaths of hundreds of loyal soldiers and the experice of war the writter portrays is very different than lots of the other poems. Through out the poem the writter tells us how great war is despite over six hundred soldiers were sent to their graves.The poem is also about how the brave British soldiers went into battle knowing they would be killed. The poem begins with the light brigade charging into the valley of death. Already the writer is trying to create a image of the bravery of the soldiers and continues to do so through out the poem. Throught of the poem the writer uses lots of good language to give you pictures of the war he was writting about. In this poem Tennyson portrayes that war is good and is fun. In the poem the writer uses words like "the mouth of hell" "The valley of death" he uses these words to give you a clear picture of what fate awaits the six hundred soldiers in battle. Tennyson portrayes lots of things in his poem another thing he portrayes is the great control the soldiers had for following orders even when the face of death was staring them in the face.six hundred is almost mentioned at the end of each stanza this gives you the idea of the great kind of loss these men faced during the war.At the end of the poem the writter says Honour the charge they made.Honour the Light Brigade the writter is telling us to honour and respect what these men had done even though they all died the soldiers are being celebrated... ... middle of paper ... ...f by talking about a young boy who is in the first world war and is stuck in a trench and ends up commiting suicide. Due to all the bad conditions in the trenches. Sassoon explored the theme of war in that he thought it was a bad thing a terrible thing to die and. Sassoon hated war he portrayed it as horrid and fearful and really explained the suffering the soldiers went through lots of men and boys were killing themeselvs becuase if it "he pit a bullet through his brain and no one spoke of him again" Lots if men who took their own lives were though of as cowdly . In the first stanza you get the message that the poem is about a young boy who likes life in the war but as you read on you get a very different message. Sassoon is exploring the theme of war in the same way as some of the other poets. He is saying war is horrible and that it is not an honour to fight in.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing The Soldier And Cold Chisel's 'Khe Sanh'

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Soldier” written by Rupert Brooke in 1914 is a pro-war poem to express the bravery of soldiers going to war and fighting for their nation. Brooke's poems use of extended metaphors “Earth a richer dust.” Is used to explain that when a brave soldier dies the ground will forever hold its value. This allows him to convey his message of bravery by fighting for your nation because the earth will forever be grateful of your brave actions. He also uses personification “A dust who England bore, shaped aware,” To compare England to a mother as it gave life to the soldier and molded the

    Read More

  • Attitudes Towards War in 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and 'Dulce et Decorum est'

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alfred Tennyson wants to make people to join the army that why he suggests the good point of the British soldiers and he didn’t suggests the loss of the Britain that much. Also Alfred Tennyson read the news paper about the battle of balaclava then he wrote this poem which shows some parts of the poem might not be accurate. However this poem shows the honour of the British soldiers.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est

    1860 Words  | 4 Pages

    This quote suggests that Tennyson’s poem glorifies the war, celebrating the sacrifice they had made for their country. By glorifying the Brigade, Tennyson has ignored the obscurity and massacre of the war; this is shown by the loyalty that the soldiers have for their country. The commitment of war in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is only shown because Tennyson's looking at war from afar .We can see this because in the poem he has not used descriptive language to describe what war was like, and has not shown the real outcome of war.

    Read More

  • How are differing attitudes to war expressed in the poetry of WWI

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting the Two Poems, Dulce Et Decorum Est and The Charge of the Light Brigade

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lord Tennyson celebrates the glory of his six hundred brave soldiers who went into battle knowing they would be dead once the war was over. The first verse starts of in action as the chief officer, sends an order for all soldiers to

    Read More

  • Carlos Williams Spring And All

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even though the war is over, it is still remembered. There seems to be diminished optimism and no smiles are evident as the season of autumn is underway. The first line of the poem is conflicting in the language and visual on “By the road to the contagious hospital”. A hospital should be a place of healing but sickness is implied which provides uncertainty. The feeling of cold and misery can be felt from the movement in the sky as quoted “under the surge of the blue/ mottled clouds, driven from the/ northeast- a cold wind…” (Ln 2-4) which provides a mood of anxiety and expectations. . A chilly reception could be received by the soldiers upon returning home as those left behind cannot relate or imagine what they’ve endured. The depiction of, “…muddy fields brown with dried weeds, standing and fallen” (Ln 5-6) feels gloomy with reminders of the soldiers that have fallen in battle. Welcoming home the servicemen and visiting them in hospitals or in rehabilitation facilities can be quite traumatic for all those touched by warfare. The reader is reminded that the journey is tough when images of the past events penetrate thoughts. In addition the brown landscaping is mundane, depressing and all encompassing. However, “the scattering of tall trees” (Ln 8) provides a glimmer of a future as the trees provide a vision of rising above

    Read More

  • Charge of the Light Brigade

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    As poet laureate and patriot, Alfred, Lord Tennyson was very influential in 19th century England. He successfully showed the ignorance of the English Army leaders while still reflecting his strong nationalist views in an attempt to create propaganda for the Crimean War in his poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” The charge was a tragic incident that took place in 1854 during the Crimean War, which was England, France and Sardinia against Russia, when English Army generals blundered and sent over six hundred soldiers on a charge that was destined for disaster. The solders were known as the Light Brigade and the charge resulted in over two hundred deaths to soldiers and over three hundred deaths to horses. In this horrific aftermath, Tennyson responded to this event by writing a poem which went on to become a classic. Tennyson was a strong nationalist and very political. He was moved and troubled when he received news of the tragic charge. The poem became a form of propaganda for the Crimean War due to Tennyson glorifying the sacrifice of the soldiers by using his exceptional writing skills. Although this poem is regarded by many as propaganda, he included the word blunder in the poem which showed the ignorance of the Army leaders.

    Read More

  • Dulce Et Decorum Est - Critical Response

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    A poem I have recently read is “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen. The main point Wilfred Owen tries to convey in this poem is the sheer horror of war. Owen uses many techniques to show his feelings, some of which I’ll be exploring. Wilfred Owen was a tired soldier on the front line during World War I. In the first stanza of Dulce Et Decorum Est he describes the men and the condition they are in and through his language shows that the soldiers deplore the conditions.

    Read More

  • The Harsh Reality of War in Wilfred Owen’s Poem Dulce et Decorum Est

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chaos and drudgery are common themes throughout the poem, displayed in its form; it is nearly iambic pentameter, but not every line fits the required pattern. This is significant because the poem’s imperfect formulation is Owen making a statement about formality, the poem breaks the typical form to show that everything is not functioning satisfactorily. The poem’s stanza’s also begin short, but become longer, like the speaker’s torment and his comrades movement away from the open fire. The rhyming scheme of ABABCDCD is one constant throughout the poem, but it serves to reinforce the nature of the cadence as the soldiers tread on. The war seems to drag on longer and longer for the speaker, and represents the prolonged suffering and agony of the soldier’s death that is described as the speaker dwells on this and is torn apart emotionally and distorts his impressions of what he experiences.

    Read More

  • Analysis and Interpretations of Reed's Poem, Naming of Parts

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    The men are a vital role in the poem, as the general, uses his military background to help guide and train the “privates” he also distinguishes the role that the men will have to play later on with after the war is done and over with. To help realize this idea it is developed through the speaker, imagery and irony

    Read More

  • Compare and contrast the poet's attitudes to and experiences of war in

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    The next line expresses the way in which he has no grave stone, just a

    Read More

  • Anthem for Doomed Youth and Facing It

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    Owen presents us a sarcastic view towards the idea of being honorable to sacrifice for their country and buttresses it with abundant of horrific images. It is a war sonnet that captures the feelings of survivors to those who lost their lives in war. The use of a sonnet creates a sense of intensity in his poem, briefness and portrays the nature of death on a battlefield. Moreover, Owen uses the rhyme scheme of “ababcdcdeffegg” to show the strong division between the lines. The choice of a sonnet allows Owen to convey his message effectively and remain emotional to keep the readers interested. His tone in the poem is gloomy and proposes the reader to consider the question at the beginning of the poem: “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle” (1). Their deaths are significant to those of cattle and it occurs in masses. This leads the reader to consider t...

    Read More

  • sigfried sassoon

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    Due to the uncanny nature of his writings Sassoon was in trouble with his military superiors. In the high command for the British military they knew about Sassoon's writings and where not vary approving. Sassoon nearly avo...

    Read More

  • The Falling Soldier Poem Analysis

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem comprises three stanzas which are patterned in two halves; the rule of three is ingeniously used throughout the poem to create tension and show the progression of the soldiers’ lives. There is a variety of rhyming schemes used – possibly Duffy considered using caesural rhyme, internal rhyme and irregular rhyme to better address the elegiac reality. The rhythm is very powerful and shows Duffy’s technical adroitness. It is slightly disconcerting, and adds to the other worldly ambience of the poem. Duffy uses a powerful comparative in each stanza to exemplify the monstrosity and extent of war, which is much worse than we imagine; it develops throughout each stanza, starting with a syntactical ‘No; worse.’ to ‘worse by far’ and ending on ‘much worse’. Similarly, the verbs used to describe the soldier’s shadow as he falls shows the reader the journey of the shadow, as if it’s the trajectory of soldiers’ lives. At first, the shadow is as an act...

    Read More

  • A Comparative Essay on the Anti-war Poems "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen and "Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whereas the sestet seems to describe the home front, however the main theme throughout the poem is how so many soldiers were needlessly sacrificed. The fact that the poem is called an Anthem is extremely cynical and contradictory, as anthems are normally passionate, whereas this is about death, and this shows how much Owen hated war and everything it stood for. Also Doomed Youth gives the impression that the young and lively soldiers with a whole life in front of them are being led to war, where their lives are effectively doomed. Owen starts his poem with a question. “What passing bells for those who die as cattle?”

    Read More

More about Six War Poems and the Theme of War

Open Document