The Various Attitudes Toward War Displayed in Poetry
In this piece of coursework I shall be comparing four different poems
form the pre1914 period. These poems shall be "the Charge of the Light
Brigade", "The man he killed", "Come up form the fields father" and
"After Blenhiem" and seeing the different attitudes towards the war.
The Charge of The Light Brigade
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"The Charge of The Light Brigade", is a very dramatic poem about he
elite of an army during the Crimean War in 1896. In the poem Tennyson
celebrate the bravery of the six hundred British troops who went into
a battle against all odds, even though they knew that they would be
killed. The poem starts in the middle of the action 'Light Brigade' is
written in dactylic feet (one space stressed syllable followed by two
unstressed syllables) and this gives a sense of excitement of the
galloping horse sin the cavalry charge and the rhythm of their feet
beating on the ground:
"Half a league, half a league
Half a league onward"
"The valley of death is used as a biblical view of he fate of the men.
The command their general gives "Forward, the Light Brigade, charge
for the guns" is a very vivid. The heroic command in stanza 1 which is
repeated for effect in stanza 1, sweeps the reader along without time
to question the futility of the gestures.
Even though the soldier knew that they would be killed they did not
disobey. Even they were suicidal, the orders of their commander were
played because otherwise they would be shot as it's shown in the poem.
'Not though the soldiers knew,
Someone had blundered,
Theirs not to make,
Theirs not to reason why,
There's but to do and die'
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This extract shows that tin the army as a soldier you must follow
every order given however ridiculous it is. Tennyson also celebrates
the ideal of unquestioning obedience of the soldiers in the face of
death.
Scourging the countryside for this evening’s meal or simply keeping wary of impending danger, one often felt naked without a trustworthy gun at their side. A firearm often made one feel invincible, for the power of a bullet could protect the weakest and cowardly from even the strongest and fiercest of animals and people. In it’s use it proved to be an action that spoke louder than words, many a quarrel has been put to rest through this instrument, whose music is often not one of good cheer.
seen as a hero if we look at the poem in the corrupt figures point of
reveals the concept that those dying at the peak of their glory or youth are
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
How Wilfred Owen Uses Language and Imagery in His Poetry to Communicate his Attitudes of War
God is indicated as the Master and the gun as the narrator is intended to be lived till the day she came across her purpose of living. In this context, the poetry is also expressing another dimension of speaker’s understanding related to religion and spirituality. In order to obtain a clear picture regarding the underlying meaning of the poem, the second stanza is instilled with significant description. With the incorporation of anaphora in the starting lines which further elaborates the structure of the poem that is transitioning from present to
middle of paper ... ... Ultimately, we have two poems which can be compared on the grounds of their subject, but are poles apart regarding their message. The structure of these poems is not what would be typically expected from a war poem, but are structured on the basis of these typical structures in order to create some sense of familiarity.
The next line expresses the way in which he has no grave stone, just a
The writers of 'Joining the Colours' and 'The Send Off' both use poetry to express their feelings about soldiers leaving for war. Each have similar attitudes about the subject, but use different approaches to try and get their message across. Both question the popular concept of war, including ideas such as heroism and glory. Katherine Hinkson, the poet who wrote 'Joining the Colours', shows the scene from two different perspectives, that of the audience watching the soldiers and also her own point of view. Wilfred Owen simply shares his thoughts by describing the soldiers leaving from a station, although the effect is no less powerful. As Hinkson is a woman, she focuses more on a mother or wives point of view, whereas Owen gives more of the soldiers perspective.
Considered the leading English poet of the First World War, Owen is remembered for realistic poems depicting the horrors of war, which were inspired by his experiences at the Western Front in 1916 and 1917. Owen considered the true subject of his poems to be "the pity of war," and attempted to present the true horror and realities of battle and its effects on the human spirit. His unique voice, which is less passionate and idealistic than those of other war poets, is complemented by his unusual and experimental style of writing. He is recognized as the first English poet to successfully use pararhyme, in which the rhyme is made through altered vowel sounds. Owen’s distinct way of both writing and reading poems led to influence other poets in the 1920s and 1930s.
The two poems, 'Dulce et decorum est' and 'Who's for the game?' are both very different war poems. Although they were both written about the First World War, they both had different purposes. The poems have aspects in which they are similar, but they also have very big differences.
Stanza one is a ballad that uses symbolism as a technique, ‘grinned at life in empty joy’, this symbolises the boys’ youth when he was pleased by anything, and life was easy, he had no worries, as he would grin at anything. This phrase gives an outlook at life before joining the war, it is demonstrating the boys’ life when he was contented with anything. Another symbol is found in the first stanza, ‘whistled early with the lark’. The phrase suggests the boys’ youth in the early days, oblivious to the future laying ahead oh him. The lark symbolises cheerfulness and the beginning of the day. The boy whistling with the lark shows how he is excited for every new
World War I impacted poetry profoundly. Poets who served in the war were using poetry to share their horrific stories about the hardships they faced. These poets became known as “war poets.” They wrote about the traumatic, life changing experiences that haunted them once the war was over. Intense poems started emerging that portrayed the mental and physical struggles soldiers faced. Two examples of the impact that World War I had on poetry is seen in the poems “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “Repression of War Experience” by Siegfried Sassoon.
Chaos and drudgery are common themes throughout the poem, displayed in its form; it is nearly iambic pentameter, but not every line fits the required pattern. This is significant because the poem’s imperfect formulation is Owen making a statement about formality, the poem breaks the typical form to show that everything is not functioning satisfactorily. The poem’s stanza’s also begin short, but become longer, like the speaker’s torment and his comrades movement away from the open fire. The rhyming scheme of ABABCDCD is one constant throughout the poem, but it serves to reinforce the nature of the cadence as the soldiers tread on. The war seems to drag on longer and longer for the speaker, and represents the prolonged suffering and agony of the soldier’s death that is described as the speaker dwells on this and is torn apart emotionally and distorts his impressions of what he experiences.
The biblical references throughout the Chronicle of a Death Foretold help identify the characters, Bayardo San Roman, Maria Cervantes, Divina Flor, and the Vicario children, and add depth to the death of Santiago. Without the many religious symbols such as, the Divine Face, the murder of Santiago, the cocks crowing, and the characters, there would be little weight placed on the reactions of the townspeople towards the knowledge of Santiago’s impending death. The religious symbols solidify the idea that Christ has come again in many different forms and ideas, yet dies to renew the people’s covenant with the Lord. “Give me prejudice and I will move the world” (Márquez 100).