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Analysis of the charge of the light brigade
Tennyson as a Victorian poet
Analysis of the charge of the light brigade
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“Into the mouth of Hell, Rode the 600.” A soldier's duty is to follow any and all commands given to him by his superiors, and this can either be very successful or catastrophic. Tennyson’s poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade, tells the story of 600 brave soldiers who have their all and showed the following: extreme heroism and respect to their general. The men were showed unmatched courage and heroism that day when they went into The Battle of Balaclava. First, a soldier's courage and grit are some of their most proud aspects. When the soldiers rode their horses into battle, they were fearful, but they continued onward into the jaws of death. Tennyson’s text states, “stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well.” This
“The war correspondent is responsible for most of the ideas of battle which the public possesses … I can’t write that it occurred if I know that it did not, even if by painting it that way I can rouse the blood and make the pulse beat faster – and undoubtedly these men here deserve that people’s pulses shall beat for them. But War Correspondents have so habitually exaggerated the heroism of battles that people don’t realise that real actions are heroic.”
The first poem we are going to look at is ‘The Charge of the Light
As they tried to get through the enemy line a lot of the Light Brigade
Throughout the battle, you see numerous Army Values and Warrior Ethos being used. “I will never leave a fallen comrade”, was the etho used the most, to reach the separated platoon. The battle also shows that not all tactical orders are effective, but as a leader you must never second guess yourself.
the tent and during the “War!” – “the part that is not for show”, “a
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his friends who were faced with the terribleness of war and how severely it affected their lives. The Red badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front are similar in the way of how the main characters develop through the novel to change from naïve and innocent men ...
These soldiers lacked passion for the war. They didn't feel heroic because they did not hate the French nor the British. Therefore they lacked zeal to fight the war and did not fit the title of hero, they clung on to their life at all times.
The weights of desires, fears, and responsibility place great amounts of pressure on an individual. The soldiers in “The Things They Carried” all around lug a great deal of heavy weaponry and equipment. But the heaviest items are intangible things such as their emotions, shame and reputations. These intangible items cannot be discarded and thus, the men continue to “hump” by enduring their weight for the remainder of their lives. Lieutenant Cross realizes that the men “carry these things inside, maintaining a mask of composure” (369) and that unfortunately, the only way to release these things is death.
The themes of the two poems are portrayed in very distinctive ways. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ explains in a majestic approach, that fighting in war is something every soldier should honour. The poem is also about the loyalty of the soldiers, not the bad luck or foolishness of men. Tennyson presents this in his poem to show the bravery of the soldiers, although, he only highlights on the benefits of war.
The six hundred horsemen of the British Light Brigade knew that the orders that were given to them would end in almost certain death, but in their training to follow orders, and their loyalty to their leaders, they acted with valor as they charged towards the Russian battalions to reach their end state.
Many soldiers of today know what courage is. Courage is doing what is needed to do, not what absolutely must be done. In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, the soldiers were not what one would think of as courageous. The soldiers were courageous in the sense that their courage came from fear of dishonor. The soldiers did what must be done in order to keep their honorable reputation. True courage was not present until the end of the story.
The soldiers make it known that they feel they are “ordinary men in what they see as ordinary work” early on in the scene. One man says "ye woot yourself as well as I how lords and leaders...has given doom this dote shall die," (3-5) suggesting that they are obliged not primarily by personal decree, but by higher ranks, to satisfy the deed. In the following lines the soldiers continue to discuss the swiftest way in which they can fulfill the deed. The men are furthermost concerned with the honor they will receive if the “job” is done in a quick manner. They are not at all mindful of the man, patiently awaiting his death, beside them. This shows how the technocratic or “daily labor” concern that tends to supersede humanism. A humanist is known to choose reason over faith. It’s unlikely that such humanist would commit to this job without a clear understanding of what they would be doing. A Humanist chooses reason over...
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.
Charge of the light brigade and O captain my captain are poems about the defects of war and the impact it can have on people and the nation. Both authors give their perspective of war and how it impacts them. In order to do so they use literary devices to give their opinions. Charge of the Light Brigade and O Captain My Captain both share a theme of war but the authors give their own point of view of war using metaphors, personification, and tone.
Life and death, kill or be killed, both are phrases used to describe war. Soldiers in war are pressured to think these phrases in active duty. In the many ways soldiers think of these results, they begin to reflect on the alternate situational outcomes. In “The Things They Carried” and “The Man He Killed,” the characters ponder what could have been if their actions had ended differently. These works illustrate how the soldiers cope with the idea of someone dying and how things could have been different if the individual had survived.