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Great war poems and how attitudes have changed over time
What seems to be the poet’s attitude towards war
Great war poems and how attitudes have changed over time
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A Comparison of The Charge of the Light Brigade, Dulce Et Decorum Est and Anthem for Doomed Youth
The attitudes of poets towards war have always been articulated
vigorously in their poetry, each poet either condoning or condemning
war, and justifying their attitudes in whatever way possible. I aim to
explore the change in the portrayal of war before and during the
twentieth century, and also the structures and devices poets use to
express their views persuasively, and substantiate them. These three
poems describe war, and scenes from war, with varying levels of
intensity and reality from differing viewpoints.
I am going to make a comparison between the three poems: 'The Charge
of the Light Brigade' by Alfred Tennyson, 'Dulce et Decorum Est', and
'Anthem for Doomed Youth' both by Wilfred Owen. 'The Charge of the
Light Brigade' was written in the nineteenth century and is relating
to a battle fought in the Crimean War. 'Dulce et Decorum Est' and
'Anthem for Doomed Youth' were written during the First World War.
In 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', Tennyson doesn't describe the
scene with the vivid detail of 'Dulce et Decorum Est', nor does he
describe the blood and gore of the battle field. Tennyson has imagined
himself there as an eyewitness and throughout the poem he has
attempted to take readers on the same sympathetic journey. Although
the poem was written before television was invented, he was able to
portray the battle as it would be shown on film. Tennyson's potent
imagery and use of repetition makes the reader visualize the urgency
of the headlong charge into 'the valley of death'.
'The Charge of the Light Brigade' was wr...
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... Tennyson's rather impersonal 'six hundred'. He wants us to imagine
that we are actually there on the battlefield so we get an idea of
what it was like. This poem is the closest we will get to experience
such atrocities and if we had, Owen tells us in the final lines, then
we would not try to glorify war any longer. In the preface to his
poems, published after his death, Owen wrote, 'All a poet can do today
is warn. That is why true poets must be truthful'. For this reason he
criticizes 'the high zest' that some people have for 'the old lie' of
glorifying war. Of the three poems, although I admire 'Anthem for
Doomed Youth' for its quiet dignity in the face of undignified
burials, I admire 'Dulce et Decorum Est' more as it is the most
powerful poem of the three, and I shall for ever remember the impact
it has had on me.
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the tent and during the “War!” – “the part that is not for show”, “a
"Poem and Notes – Dulce et Decorum Est." The War Poetry Website. Ed. David Roberts. Saxon Books, 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
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The simple definition of war is a state of armed competition, conflict, or hostility between different nations or groups; however war differs drastically in the eyes of naive children or experienced soldiers. Whether one is a young boy or a soldier, war is never as easy to understand as the definition. comprehend. There will inevitably be an event or circumstance where one is befuddled by the horror of war. For a young boy, it may occur when war first breaks out in his country, such as in “Song of Becoming.” Yet, in “Dulce et Decorum Est” it took a man dying in front of a soldier's face for the soldier to realize how awful war truly is. Both “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” are poems about people experiencing the monstrosity of war for the first time. One is told from the perspective of young boys who were stripped of their joyful innocence and forced to experience war first hand. The other is from the perspective of a soldier, reflecting on the death of one of his fellow soldiers and realizing that there is nothing he can do to save him. While “Song of Becoming” and “Dulce et Decorum Est” both focus on the theme of the loss of innocence, “Song of Becoming” illustrates how war affects the lives of young boys, whereas “Dulce et Decorum Est” depicts the affect on an experienced soldier.