The Charge of the Light Brigade Compared to Dulce et Decorum Est Essay

Compare and contrast the poems Charge of the light brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est What does each poem tell us about attitudes to war?

In this essay I am going to compare and contrast two different poems and tell you what each poem tells us about the attitudes to war. The two poems that Im going to look at are Charge of the light brigade and Dulce et decorum est.

I dont think war is necessary anymore, I think that the government are just sending young lads out for the sake of it, and taking young lads lives away for no proper reason. Its like the government dont care about the soldiers that are going out in rough ears of the world putting their lives in danger for the safety of others.

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born on the 18th March 1893 and wrote Dulce et Decorum Est. He was on the continent teaching until he visited a hospital for the wounded and then decided in September 1915, to return to England and enlist. Wilfred Owen was injured in March 1917 and was sent home, he was fit for duty in August 1918, and returned to the front line on the 4th November. Just seven days after the armistice, he was caught in a German gun attack and killed, when he was on 25 years old.

Alfred Lord Tennyson was born on the 6th august 1809 in Somersby. Lincolnshire, he was a rectors son and was the fourth of twelve children. Alfred Lord Tennyson was from a middle class line of Tennysons but he also had a royal and noble ancestry. Alfred Lord Tennysons father was called George Clayton Tennyson; he was born in 1778 and passed away in 1831. Tennysons mother was called Elizabeth Fytche; she was born in 1781 and passed away in 1865. Alfred Lord Tennyson was a student at Louth grammar school for four years from 1816 till 1820, he then went on to study at Scaitcliffe school, Tennyson then went on to study at Trinity college in Cambridge 1827.

The poem The Charge of the Light Brigade was set in 1854, the details from the poem were from a report in The Times Newspaper. The poem is about the battle of Balaclava , in the Crimean war which took place from 1853 till 1856, in which England France and Turkey and Sardinia fought against Russia. The young men that were out to fight in war, were proud to go out and fight for their country , they had a strong positive attitude towards war, and all they wanted to do was to go out to war and represent their countries. But on the other hand, some peoples attitude to war is completely different some people dont want to go out to war, putting their own lives at risk , If someone didnt want to go to war, then they would get white feathers posted through their door, which would be offensive towards them, as it meant that they were cowards because they wouldnt go out to war. This attitude seems to be represented in the poem.

In the first verse, it starts off with Half a league, Half a league which suggest the men marching to war, 0.7 of a mile, this being the distance that theyre marching. The first verse talks about the men, marching out to war and give the image of the soldiers stood in rows, with the sergeant shouting commands. At the end of the stanza it says Into the valley of death rode the six hundred which is to emphasise that so many of them are going to their death, the young men, horse men and swordsmen. The distinct rhythm in stanza one gives the idea of

marching rode the six hundred gives us the impression of the many young men that have basically signed themselves up for death charge of the guns! He said this gives us the impression that the sergeant is stood shouting commands at the young men. All in the valley of death is a negative point of view and gives the impression of the futility of war.