Compare ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘The Defence of Lucknow’ Essay Example

Light Brigade, he modifies the refrain line in each stanza to suggest the soldiers' sacrifice without explicitly mentioning their deaths.

In order to depict the soldiers as brave and victorious, Tennyson emphasizes British superiority and implies that the loss of "Great men" was a result of only one error. The Charge of the Light Brigade is a quick, dynamic poem, reflecting the swift actual charge, which lasted only a few minutes but was packed with intense action. Tennyson's poem rhythmically mirrors the battle's cadence.

The Charge of the Light Brigade's rhythm mirrors galloping horses and highlights the soldiers' bravery. In contrast, The Defence of Lucknow's pace reflects the slow battle it describes, although each stanza has its own distinct rhythm. The opening lines of The Defence of Lucknow proclaim the greatness of England's banner, suggesting British superiority and invincibility due to their increasing power and success in conquests and battles.

Tennyson’s use of phrases such as ‘Conquering Battle’ and ‘Mightier Glory’ demonstrates the pride of the British people in their banners. The poem’s refrain line, ‘And ever upon the topmost roof our banner of England blew,’ reinforces British pride and indicates that England was gaining control worldwide. In contrast, ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ starts on a less optimistic note with the line ‘Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, all in the valley of death,’ which sets the rhythm of the battle and the horses.

The refrain line of the poem creates an impression of the soldiers' bravery and superiority as they 'rode the six hundred'. However, the stanza also suggests that victory cannot be expected for the British in the valley

of death, a line that echoes a Christian funeral prayer. Tennyson seems to make excuses for the soldiers by mentioning their outnumbered position, as if trying to deflect blame away from their fighting abilities. The commander is not named, with only his command 'Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!' mentioned, perhaps implying that he was responsible for the death and injury of England's best soldiers.

'Not though the soldiers knew someone had blundered', that person was Lord Cardigan. While it may have been seen as cowardly to refuse his command at the time, I believe it was morally wrong for the soldiers to follow. They all likely knew it would lead to their deaths. Perhaps being labelled a coward in the moment is preferable to the loss of innocent lives. In retrospect, those who tried to prevent the disastrous Charge would be considered heroes, saving the embarrassing defeat that occurred.

Both poems by Tennyson delve into battles in their second stanza. While The Defence of Lucknow mourns the loss of their commander, Lawrence, with great admiration towards him, The Charge of the Light Brigade fails to honor their commander in a similar manner. Tennyson's patriotism shines through his depiction of Lawrence's unwavering spirit that inspires the British to continue fighting even after his demise. In doing so, he aims to garner sympathy for the British, as they prefer death over surrender to the Indians - a rare occurrence in battles where defeat often seems inevitable with the loss of the commander.

The Defence of Lucknow discusses the families of soldiers who were present in India during the battle, stating "Women and children among us, God

help them, our children and wives." The intent is to elicit sympathy for the British by highlighting the lack of concern for innocent people demonstrated by the Indians, despite the fact that it was actually the English who were inconsiderate towards others. They would coat their bullets with pig and cow fat, which are respectively impure to Muslims and sacred to Hindus.

During this period in India, there were two prominent religions. Tennyson aimed to foster compassion and understanding for the English while generating animosity towards the Indians through The Defence of Lucknow, which details a deadly battle where soldiers perished in their designated locations. The stanza repeatedly utilizes the term "death" at the start of each line.

The text describes the locations where people were dying and how they were dying. The language used suggests that bullets were flying everywhere, with the phrase 'Bullets would sing by our foreheads, and bullets would rain at our feet' being repeated. This repetition serves to create a feeling that the British soldiers were completely surrounded, which is the intended effect of the writer, Tennyson. Additionally, this feeling of hopelessness is reinforced through Tennyson's statement that "Hold it we might- and for fifteen days or for twenty at most."

The first stanza's depiction of the British as optimistic no longer holds true, implying that they are in need of sympathy, as their chances of survival are slim. The Indians may exact revenge on the British, who had previously inflicted suffering on them. Tennyson employs repetition and portrays the army as surrounded in his depiction of the battle in "The Charge of the Light Brigade."

The battles are vividly described by

Tennyson in both The Defence of Lucknow and The Charge of the Light Brigade. In the former, he employs the phrase 'cannon shot, musket shot and volley on volley' to capture the intensity of the battle, while the latter mentions 'Cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon in front of them' and uses onomatopoeia with 'volleyed and thundered' to describe the explosions. Tennyson's strong imagery allows readers to visualize the battle, and he also emphasizes the feeling of being surrounded with alliteration in 'stormed at with shot and shell'.

The author aims to convey an intense atmosphere of explosive action, similar to The Defence of Lucknow, in both poems. He utilizes the term "hell" to intensify the battle's grimness. For instance, The Charge of the Light Brigade reads "Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell," emphasizing that the soldiers have no means of escape. In The Defence of Lucknow, on the other hand, he describes the unbearable heat in India as "like the mouth of a hell," which does not directly reference their impending doom like in The Charge of the Light Brigade.

The hot climate of India was a struggle for the English who found it incredibly difficult, feeling as though they were in a place resembling hell. The use of sulphur-carrying cannons worsened the situation, leading to darker skies and creating an atmosphere reminiscent of hell. Additionally, this darkness was associated with dark-skinned people. The Defence of Lucknow exemplifies the hardships faced by soldiers who were confused due to the loss of their leader. The quote "kill or be killed, live or die,

they shall know we are soldiers and men" highlights their perceived superiority over the Indians. In contrast, The Charge of the Light Brigade denotes soldiers who are aware of both their mission and its inevitable outcome.

Tennyson acknowledges that the light brigade had no choice but to obey the orders of their commanders. He echoes this sentiment by stating 'theirs is not to make reply, theirs is not to reason why, theirs is but to do and die'. Despite this, Tennyson still praises their bravery and aptitude when he exclaims 'boldly they rode and well'. This is a recurring theme as he also highlights their skill during the battle when he observes 'lashed all their sabres bare, flashed as they turned in air'. It is worth noting that the British army only had 'sabres', which were swords that were not effective against enemies armed with guns.

The Charge of the Light Brigade initially suggests British victory, with the phrase 'reeled from the sabre-stroke, shattered and sundered'. However, subsequent lines reveal that 'then they rode back, but not, not the six hundred', indicating that either death or severe injury has befallen the British. Despite this, Tennyson fervently praises them, declaring 'when can their glory fade, O the wild charge they made, all the world wondered, honour the charge they made, honour the light brigade, noble six hundred' - an indication of perceived triumph. Conversely, The Defence of Lucknow offers a more transparent portrayal of suffering, with a stanza beseeching for empathy. It highlights constant Indian attacks that deprived them of rest, a lack of personnel necessitating the tasks typically performed by fifty being undertaken by

only five, and improper burials leading to disease. By avoiding discussion of British weaknesses, Tennyson shows that despite all they endured, they managed to survive without loss of esteem.

The author discusses the country's gloomy atmosphere and mentions the skies covered in sulphur due to gun powder, flies causing great discomfort and May's breezes in England that created sympathy for the British who fought in excruciating heat. Tennyson refers to Outram and Havelock as angels when they rescue the British soldiers, leading to their victory and the belief in their superiority over the Indians. In The Defence of Lucknow, Tennyson displays racism when describing the enemy as dark-faced, even when praising them. He expresses gratitude to Indian brothers with dark faces who fought alongside the British to earn their status. However, he also labels the Indians who fought against them as brutes and murderous moles because of their fighting tactics underground that allowed them to be concealed by the earth.

Tennyson compared the Indians to heartless tigers because, like tigers, they are vicious and do not discriminate in their killing as long as they benefit from it. He considered the Indians traitors for fighting against the British, who were their rulers. However, in The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tennyson refrained from making any racial comments about the Russian enemy. Instead, he briefly mentions that they were "Cossack and Russian." Personally, I preferred The Charge of the Light Brigade because it was shorter and contained less references to death and race than The Defense of Lucknow.

In my opinion, The Defence of Lucknow seemed excessively theatrical due to the exaggerated British dominance, resulting in

a lack of realism. On the other hand, I appreciated the deceptive nature of The Charge of the Light Brigade, as it required analysis to grasp its true meaning.