English War Poetry - page 3
Keywords: With Detailed Reference to Any Four Poems from the Anthology You Have Studied, Explain the Way Different Poets Convey a Range of Aspects In war
By Riko V on 16/05/2007
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 3 of 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.’ This is again closely links the soldiers to God and religion, it can be compared to the ode.
‘Someone had blundered,
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die’
The persona here is referring to the great blunder that has been made by the officers, but he salutes the loyalty of the young men to carry out the attack for Queen and country despite the overwhelming odds against them.
‘Cannon to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon in front of them.’
Due to the repetition of the word ‘cannon’ the persona adds to the claustrophobic feeling of the charge and at the same time makes one feel the great sense of bravery that the soldiers possessed. The use of the onomatopoeic words ‘volleyed and ‘thundered’ in the next line make the reader feel as if he is in the midst of the action by adding a great atmosphere to the poem. This also enables us to empathise with the Light Brigade. ‘Death’ and ‘Hell’ have been personified in order to make the battlefield seem darker fatal and more dangerous; this demonstrates the courage of those men riding head first into these dangers. It also shows obedience and the great bulldog spirit of the men in a position of such great adversity.
‘They rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.’
The use of repetition by the persona emphasises the loss of the men to the reader. This one part of the poem where the heroism of the soldiers is not celebrated, but the great loss of lives is mourned because of a great military blunder. This scene of the destruction caused by war, which is criticised implicitly, is expressed in other poems such as ‘Drummer Hodge’ and ‘the Drum’, the words ‘ Mangled limbs, and dying groans’ from the poem ‘the Drum support this view.
‘Cannon to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon behind them.’
The Brigade however is not now on the attack but in a retreat trying to save their lives in retreat. The repetition once again of the words ‘Volleyed’ and ‘Thundered’ adds to the claustrophobic feel of the retreat. The rhyme scheme at the end of this stanza changes, symbolising the irregular stampede of the hooves of the horses.
‘All that
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