The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est

Both "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson and "Dulce

et Decorum est" by Wilfred Owen are poems about war. However, they

were written in two very different contexts and about two very

different wars. Charge of the Light Brigade describes a doomed cavalry

charge made by British soldiers during The Battle of Balaclava in the

Crimean War (1854-1857). Dulce et Decorum est, on the other hand,

tells the story of a group of soldiers who were caught in a gas attack

returning from the trenches of World War I (1914-1918) towards their

"distant rest". Alfred Lord Tennyson was the "Poet Laureate" at that

time and wrote the poem after reading about The Battle of Balaclava in

the "Times" newspaper. This could have influenced how he portrayed the

battle as he used secondary information which could be unreliable. In

contrast, Wilfred Owen had first hand battle experiences from World

war I, and so you would expect his information to be more reliable,

However he could have emphasised certain points for poetic effect.

In Dulce et Decorum est Wilfred Owen uses a variety of similes

metaphors and other poetic techniques to describe the actions,

appearance and mental states of the soldiers. Owen describes the

soldiers as "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed,

coughing like hags", this simile shows that the war has had a very

large effect on the soldiers as it gives the impression that they have

aged prematurely and are in a very bad state of health. Owen also says

that they limped on "blood-shod, all went lame, all blind", also

giving the impression that the soldiers are in a very bad state of

health, this emphasi...

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...rge of the Light Brigade Tennyson gives the impression

that the British soldiers were fighting a loosing battle. Tennyson

gives the impression to the reader that he is not against the war even

if they were going to loose but he still praises the soldiers for what

they did. In Charge of the Light Brigade Tennyson contradicts Owens

views, and instead says that it is honourable to die for ones country

even if you loose the battle. In general I prefer Dulce et Decorum est

because of what the poem stands for, Dulce et Decorum est give the

views that war is a terrible thing and Owen is very against it whereas

Tennyson seems to be a lot more pro war.

Works Cited

L. Bensel-Meyers. Literary Culture: Reading and Writing Literary Arguments. New York: Pearson Custom P,2000.

Napierkowski, Marie Rose and Mary K Ruby. “Poetry for Students.” Vol 1 Detroit: 1998.