Comparison of Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum

Both poets swirl around the idea of death in the name of ones country, in this case England in the World War 1 era, but this example serves different purposes in the two poems. Owen uses a graphic example where he remorsefully describes the death caused by a gas attack, exposing to his readers that war is an ugly, brutal and detestable encounter. Yet Brooke uses a different approach, and expresses that not only is it every man’s duty to fight and die for his country to preserve perfection, but once dead, the ashes shall physically enrich the already ‘rich’ soil “In that rich earth, a richer dust concealed”. And all ‘English’ values that the motherland bore will live on in one form or another. This way Brooke tries to convince that there is a deeper meaning to what lies on the surface of war.

In doing do I will look at how each poet is effective in conveying the message through their use of imagery. Wilfred Owen most eminent poem regarding war is known as Dulce et Decorum est which means The Old Lie in Latin. T... ... middle of paper ... ...eam for fighting for their country is in reality a living nightmare both physically and psychologically and in fact there is nothing honourable in war and life on the battlefield. Instead he wants the reader to understand that war rapes a soldier of human dignity. He does this effectively through the use of his bold description of the gas attack incident and his elaborate description of the soldiers appearances.

His view of war is that dying for your country is the most honorable act of man. The poems have contrary attitudes towards the life of a soldier and this is shown through poetic devices such as personification and imagery. Both poems present different views on war. Rupert Brooke, The Soldier, portrays dying for your country as glourious and patriotic. He explains how he is a great man because he fought for his country.

I have come to the conclusion that both poets have polarized view on war. Wilfred Owen believed that war was a useless thing, risking young lives and seeing the pain that many of the men went through and Rupert Brookes saw war as a noble act. Brilliant and consequential thing risking your life to show you are faithful towards your country.

He tries to make it seem sensational, and plead to the younger generation by making it come across as heroic. In comparison to Brooks poem Owen describes images related to dying for your nation as cruel, painful and upsetting but Brooke views it as something extremely honorable and something to be proud of. Personally I feel that if you happen to die in the line of battle it is in fact a heroic death. While Brook's poem describes his views of war from an outsiders perspective, Owen's Poem gives an outstanding description of war as he experienced it firsthand. Brooke sees that laying down your life during the line of duty for your country is honorable and heroic, and while you engage the first stanza you will see that Brooke writes: "the rich dead”(1).

In contrast Owen's poem attacks the idealistic and romantic view put forward by Brooke. He argues against the ideals of heroism and self-sacrifice. He is more concerned with all the men going into war thinking that it is heroic and glorious when actually it is horrible and that millions of men die every day. The poem which I prefer between Rupert Brooke's The Soldier and Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est is Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum because it describes the war as I believe it is and it is very descriptive on how the gas attack happened and how all the men felt. So I like Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum overall

Owen generates two powerful images aimed at discouraging the mere thought of war by its emotionally distressing descriptions. The way in which Owen moved the images from a general concept to personal illustration by addressing the reader directly, 'If you could hear' ... ... middle of paper ... ...ening circumstance. Owen is, effectively, placing the blame of the war's consequences squarely on the shoulders of the society that supports it. CONCLUSION! Wilfred Owen's extremely powerful poem, 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' thoroughly criticises the ideology of war being 'a sweet and glorious way to die, fighting for one's country'.

Despite his patriotic view, he has repeated the danger of an early death in his poem, proving he is fully aware of war's horrors. Owen has shown war as being gruesome. His poem describes the war through the senses, which allows readers enter the shoes of Wilfred Owen, and understand war's tragedy. He believes that 'sweet and proper to die for your country' is a lie, unlike Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson's poem was based on a newspaper article that has made the poem biased and patriotic.

In conclusion Wilfred Owen has successfully reached his points across about futility. In both poems Owen reflects the reality of war with a very strong tone and his ideas and themes can be clearly seen in these poems. Both poems show how everything happens in a sudden. Wilfred Owen describes the pain and horrors of the soldiers, unforgettable and if we were in that same situation, we could not encourage the next generation to fight. Wilfred Owen conveyed that these poems show the horrors of war and how pointless and worthless it is.

Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est” and E. E Cummings’, “next to of course god america i” are poems that critique patriotic propaganda. Both poems use words and images to effectively depict the influence that patriotic propaganda has on war. “Dulce et Decorum Est” uses descriptive words to create realistic images of the horrors soldiers are faced with during combat, whereas “next to of course god america i” uses sarcasm to inform readers that the abuse of propaganda can be used to manipulate others. The attitudes they convey are quite similar; both suggest that propaganda is a lie; it is not sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. It is ingrained in soldier’s minds that to die for ones country is a great and honourable sacrifice.