War Poetry

Essay by m_iria_mA, May 2004

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War is not a game. It is a destruction tool used to destroy people's lives. Mostly innocent civilians lives. When I think about war it resembles a tidal wave, where ever the battle goes it destroys the surroundings, just like a 50-foot wave of water. It is such a powerful tool that it brings men, women and children to tears, brings entire nations to a halt and leaves us with death, destruction and painful memories.

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

Alfred Tennyson wrote the charge of the light brigade in 1854. It was written during the Crimean war. The war broke out when Britain and France feared Russia's ambition to spread it power southwards grew.

"They rode back, but not the six hundred"

I think that this is an important quote from this poem, which has been known as one of the best war poem ever written. It remembers that tragic event when the infamous charge of the British cavalry charged straight into Russian artillery.

It happened when the noble 600 horsemen's leader misunderstood orders and the charges straight into the gates of hell. Two thirds of the British horsemen were killed or wounded. The charge is the best-known example of heroism and stupidity of war.

When we look at this poem in detail, we notice there is a lot of a poetic technique. Personification is used when the phrase "into the jaws of death" and "into the mouth of hell". In addition, when we reading the poem we notice the rhythm, it goes with a sense of charging and horses galloping. The poem also has use of repetition for example it says "half a league" 3 times at the start of the poem, also it mentions the 600 at the end of each stanza. The use of direct...