Compare Tennyson`s And Hughes` Attitudes Towards War

Read the essay below. Add connectives to give it the comparative structure that it needs.

Tennyson explores the notions of patriotism and honour in war and praises the brigade for displaying such emotions. Hughes looks at the death of patriotism and the terror of war through the plight of this individual soldier.

Tennyson uses a traditional ballad form to illustrate the true story of the charge of the light brigade. Hughes creates an unconventional form which reflects the experimental time in which he was writing, the shape of the poem reflects the movements and reflections of the soldier.

The repetitive refrain in 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' shows the progression of the soldiers as the charge at the enemy lines, die and are mourned. The action begins immediately in stanza one as the calvery charge, stanza four is climatic as they break through the Russian lines, the last stanza reflects on how they will be remembered with glory and honour. 'Bayonet Charge' uses enjambment to quicken the pace of the poem, as the soldier runs in terror.

Tennyson uses personification to emphasise the hellishness of battle, 'into the jaws of Death,/Into the mouth of Hell'. Hughes creates horrible imagery of war with the simile, 'a yellow hare that rolled like a flame', highlighting the awful fate of the soldier.

It seems that Tennyson, due to being a Victorian poet, a time when honour and glory were still valued has created an old fashioned image of war. Hughes seems more realistic, reflecting on the two world wars that had passed and the terrible warfare that had taken place.