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

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the take down Brigade and Dulce et decorum EstBoth Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson and Dulceet decorum est by Wilfred Owen are poems about struggle. However, theywere written in two re altogethery different contexts and about two verydifferent struggles. Charge of the Light Brigade describes a doomed cavalrycharge made by British soldiers during The Battle of Balaclava in theCrimean War (1854-1857). Dulce et decorum est, on the other hand,tells the story of a group of soldiers who were caught in a gunman attackreturning from the trenches of World War I (1914-1918) towards theirdistant residuum. Alfred Lord Tennyson was the Poet Laureate at thattime and wrote the poem after course session about The Battle of Balaclava inthe Times newspaper. This could have influenced how he portrayed thebattle as he used secondary discipline which could be unreliable. Incontrast, Wilfred Owen had first hand battle experiences from Worldwar 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 parablesmetaphors and other poetic techniques to describe the actions,appearance and mental states of the soldiers. Owen describes thesoldiers as Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed,coughing like hags, this simile shows that the war has had a verylarge effect on the soldiers as it gives the impression that they haveaged prematurely and are in a very bad state of health. Owen also saysthat they limped on blood-shod, all went lame, all blind, alsogiving the impression that the soldiers are in a very bad state ofhealth, this emphasi... ...rge of the Light Brigade Tennyson gives the impressionthat the British soldiers were fighting a loosing battle. Tennysongives the impression to the reader that he is not against the war evenif they were going to loose but he still praises the soldier s for whatthey did. In Charge of the Light Brigade Tennyson contradicts Owensviews, and instead says that it is honourable to die for ones eartheven if you loose the battle. In general I prefer Dulce et Decorum estbecause of what the poem stands for, Dulce et Decorum est give theviews that war is a terrible function and Owen is very against it whereasTennyson seems to be a lot more pro war. deeds Cited L. Bensel-Meyers. Literary Culture Reading and Writing Literary Arguments. New York Pearson exercise P,2000. Napierkowski, Marie Rose and Mary K Ruby. Poetry for Students. Vol 1 Detroit 1998.