The collection of poems I am analyzing covers a time span of over 60 years, from 1854 to 1917. All of the poems were composed during a period of conflict, giving insight into the authors' understanding of the events and their impact. As such, they offer an authentic representation of prevailing attitudes during this historical era.
During World War 1, Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum est" depicts a soldier being gassed and the overall tone of the poem is bitter. The soldiers are described as beggars and hags, exhausted and on their way to rest. Owen uses this image to convey his belief that war does not hold the glory it is portrayed to have. He further highlights the harsh realities of war by mentioning that some soldiers do not even have proper uniform, having lost their boots, and th
...ey are so accustomed to the fighting that they are "all blind" and "deaf even to the hoots of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind."
During World War 1, gas was a deadly weapon that took the lives of many soldiers. Owen utilizes the gas to generate a feeling of panic and enhances its authenticity through dialogue and the use of exclamation marks, "GAS! GAS! Quick boys!" Furthermore, Owen intensifies the severity of the gas by drawing comparisons to fire, lime and water, such as "But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, and flound'ring like a man in fire and lime...
"As if under a verdant sea, I perceived him drowning," Wilfred Owen captures the reader's attention with a personal admission that, "In every dream, I see him struggling towards me, gasping, suffocating
and drowning." This statement lends credibility to the poem by conveying Owen's firsthand experience. The verse is undoubtedly poignant, and it provokes a sense that war is a calamitous occurrence. Moreover, the portrayal of death in vivid detail gives the poem a realness that persists in the reader's psyche, as expressed in phrases such as "His pallid eyes floundering" and "The blood bubbling out of frothy lungs, an indecent imitation of cancer."
Owen intentionally shocks readers in his use of vivid descriptions that dissuade readers from joining the army. The poem "Dulce et Decorum est" contradicts its own title, which translates to "It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country." Instead, the poem denounces the belief that it is honorable to die for one's country. Conversely, in Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade," the title "Dulce et Decorum est" would be fitting since the poem glorifies fighting and dying for one's country. The upbeat rhythm of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" sounds like horses trotting.
Tennyson's poem, Charge of the Light Brigade, honors the 400 men who died because of a mistake. Despite the tragedy, Tennyson believed it was a heroic death that should never be forgotten. The realistic tone of the poem, conveyed through speech such as "Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!" is similar to that found in Dulce et Decorum est. Death is personified throughout the poem with phrases like "Valley of Death" and "The jaws of Death" featuring capital letters to elevate death to a being that must be defeated. Tennyson's main message is that it is noble to die for your country
- a sentiment reflected by the obedience of the Light Brigade to wrong orders.
If soldiers perish in duty, they are willing to go to any lengths for their nation. This sentiment is underscored by Tennyson's words, "Theirs not to make reply; Theirs not to reason why; Theirs but to do and die." The first line of the third verse echoes the word "cannon," "Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them volleyed and thundered." The repetition creates a strong image of the soldiers cornered by cannon blasts, with no sight of anything else. It highlights their bravery.
The usage of active verbs is prevalent in Tennyson's verse. He employs words like 'volleyed', 'thundered', and 'stormed' to depict action. The next verse carries forward this momentum by using the verb 'flashed' to portray the movement of the light brigade's sabres, imbuing their swordfighting with flair. Tennyson also describes the onlookers' reaction to the sight, terming it as incredible, "All the world wondered."
This passage gives the impression that the Light Brigade succeeded in battle with lines like "Cossack and Russian reeled from the sabre-stroke shattered and sundered." However, the final line reveals the truth of their fate with "Then they rode back, but not the six hundred." Tennyson continues to indicate death throughout the rest of the poem with lines such as "While horse and hero fell" and "All that was left of them." As the poem concludes, Tennyson reflects on the battle and asks readers to honor those soldiers who lost their lives fighting for their country.
While the speaker in one poem expresses a positive outlook on
war, viewing it as a means of creating heroes without any negative emotions towards it, Thomas Hardy's "Drummer Hodge" has a different tone. The latter poem is quite sad and bleak in comparison, reflecting Hardy's negative perspective on war and seeing it as a tragic event. It was written during the Boer War and centers on the impact of conflict on young soldiers.
The text describes the heartbreaking story of Drummer Hodge's death during war. The opening line paints a bleak picture as he is buried uncoffined, just as he was found. This burial method, much like in Dulce et Decorum est, makes it impossible for anyone to locate his remains. The use of foreign words like kopje-crest and veldt adds to the sense of separation between Drummer Hodge and his home, as his only landmark is a distant hill. However, it is his youth - aged between 13 and 16 - and his lack of knowledge about the foreign country he is in that truly enhance the sorrowful tone of the text. It is apparent that he was fresh from his Wessex home, thus making his death all the more tragic.
The idea of him being far away is emphasized by the continued description of 'stars', such as "Strange stars amid the gloam". In the final verse, Hardy portrays how Hodge rests in South Africa and becomes a part of the landscape, ensuring that a part of England always remains there. Despite the many deaths caused by the war, Hardy ends the poem on an optimistic note as he gazes up at the stars, where "strange-eyed constellations reign his stars eternally". Along with "A Wife
In London", this poem by Thomas Hardy depicts how the war affected both the soldiers and those left behind with their families.
The poem concerns the delivery of a death telegram to a woman regarding her husband. Its melancholic tone is exemplified in the first line by Hardy's description of the woman "sitting in the tawny vapour that the Thames-side lanes have uprolled," in reference to a dreary time of day/night. This creates a disheartening atmosphere, as indicated by the use of a clichi??, where impending doom is inevitable, "Like a waning taper the street-lamp glimmers cold." There is an immense amount of tension present in the atmosphere.
Upon receiving a messenger's knock, the protagonist apprehends that the news in the letter being handed over is unpleasant. The letter makes little initial sense to her as she selectively reads only a portion of it - "He- he has fallen- in the far South Land...". It appears that the letter goes on, but she does not delve any further.
Regarding Hardy's use of weather to depict her depression, as her melancholy intensifies, the inclement weather worsens, with the "fog hang[ing] thicker." In "A Letter" it is revealed that a letter, sent by her dead husband, has arrived. The line "whom the worms now know" alludes to the husband being consumed by worms as she reads this message. Hardy provides a twist in the conclusion of the poem; the letter is actually an optimistic declaration of his love for her and their imminent reunion. It is a tragic irony that this hope-filled letter arrives after all hope has dissipated. In relation to "Come up from the fields Father" by
Walt Whitman, which focuses on family members receiving news and its impact on them, this poem shares similar themes.
The subject of "Come up from the fields Father" is the American Civil War, during which soldiers of all ages left their small, peaceful towns to fight. The poem depicts a serene and charming setting, with leaves gently rustling in the moderate breeze across Ohio's villages. Whitman deliberately creates this contrast to amplify the impact of the tragic news of the war.
When the letter arrives, the mood changes with "something ominous" and trembling steps leading to an increase in speed, urging the recipient to "Open the envelope quickly." To give the poem a more dramatic feel, Whitman incorporates dialogue, such as "O this is not our son's writing, yet his name is signed." Much like in A Wife in London, Whitman illustrates his view of war as a terrible thing that only leads to sorrow. This sentiment is reinforced by news of the protagonist's son, who has suffered a gunshot wound to the breast during a cavalry skirmish and is currently in the hospital being treated for his injuries, but will hopefully recover soon.
Although the letter is optimistic, the mother is aware of its falsehood. She is sickly and worn, appearing pale and dull-minded. Though she stands near the entrance, she feels alone, knowing that her son is dying in war. He has already passed away while his family stands mournfully at home. Losing her only son intensifies her grief, making it all the more heart-wrenching. Whitman utilizes this idea to evoke emotions of sadness in readers. By placing her in the bustling state of Ohio, her
immense sorrow is emphasized.
The poem's conclusion is extremely gloomy and sorrowful. The mother expresses a desire for death, hoping to depart unnoticed and reunite with her deceased child. Of the five poems, four denounce war as a catastrophic event that brings only grief and misery. Thomas Hardy, Walt Whitman, and Wilfred Owen are among those who hold this view. Alfred Lord Tennyson is the solitary author to consider war a noble undertaking.
There is a great deal of suffering and agony caused by war.
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