Tennyson writes these lines in order to celebrate the duty these soldiers showed to Queen Victoria and to encourage his readers to show the same duty to their country.īoth poems explore honour. Tennyson’s use of the words ‘do and die’ indicate that the soldiers know that they are risking their lives, which demonstrates the strong sense of duty they feel to their queen and their country. They know that they must do their duty and fight for their country. Tennyson’s repetition of the words ‘theirs not to’ emphasises the fact that the soldiers do not feel they can ask their officers any questions. In the opening section of his poem, Tennyson demonstrates that the soldiers do not question their officers by writing ‘theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die’. Owen chooses to end the poem with this line which not only leaves the reader with a lasting question about the purpose of the war, but also leaves us wondering how long the soldiers had to wait in these brutal conditions. Owen’s repetition of these words emphasises how pointless he believed the war was, due to the lack of action and the fact that the soldiers seemed to be risking their lives for nothing. Owen demonstrates that, in spite of the terrible weather conditions and the lack of action or commands, the soldiers in the trenches know that it is their duty to stay and wait. Throughout Exposure, Owen makes clear the soldiers dutifully wait to receive instructions by writing ‘but nothing happens’. Tennyson wanted to make the danger clear to his readers because he wanted his Victorian readers to recognise how brave the soldiers were.īoth poems explore duty. Tennyson’s repetition of the word ‘cannon’ emphasises the danger the soldiers are in by demonstrating that the soldiers are being fired at from all sides. Tennyson’s use of these words creates powerful imagery of the soldiers charging bravely into enemy cannon fire. In the opening section of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, Tennyson makes clear the soldiers are in danger by writing ‘cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them’. The danger is different in The Charge of the Light Brigade. Owen makes clear the soldiers are in danger because of the cold weather rather than from the enemy. These words reveal the brutality of the weather conditions in the winter months in the trenches in World War One. Owen’s use of the words ‘knive us’ help the reader to imagine that the wind is so cold that it is creating a stabbing pain against the soldiers’ cheeks. Owen personifies the wind as an unkind, cruel person, who is deliberately attacking the soldiers. In the opening line of Exposure, Owen explores the danger that comes from nature by writing ‘the merciless iced east winds that knive us’. You must read the question carefully to ensure you understand exactly what you are being asked about conflict as all the poems in the anthology differ in their approach and message.Both The Charge of the Light Brigade and Exposure explore danger. It will be up to you to choose a poem that deals with the same theme. You should include relevant contextual material. With close reference to the ways each poet uses language, compare and contrast what the speakers in the poems say about sense of duty in conflict. Look again at this poem, and at one other poem from the Conflict anthology which also deals with the theme of sense of duty in conflict. The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson deals with the theme of sense of duty in conflict. The following is an example of the type of question you will get. If you are studying The Charge of the Light Brigade you are studying the Conflict anthology. This means you will have an unannotated copy of the poems and you will be asked to compare two poems from your chosen anthology. If you are studying poetry with CCEA your examination will be 'open book'.
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