Your first activity today is to sort the statements in the Publisher file below according to the opinion of war which they represent. Click on the link below to download the file:
Activity One
When you have analysed the sample answer, your task is to write your own answer to the question: What view of war does Tennyson present "The Charge of the Light Brigade"?
You need to post your answer as a comment and try to meet all of the assessment objectives on the sheet.
The view of war that Tennyson shows in “Charge of the light brigade” could be positive or negative:
ReplyDelete“Came thro’ the jaws of death.”
This quote clearly shows the horrors and terrors of war, the word, “jaws” shows us this. This word is usually connected to carnivorous animals such as sharks and lions. These animals are very dangerous and show how potentially treacherous war is.
This quote is also a poetic devise as it is describing something that isn’t real but is an image of something. Tennyson’s opinion shows very much through this poem and that there is ups and downs of being in the war. However the word “thro’” shows how glorious and magnificent war can be. The fact that the soldiers “came thro’ the jaws of death” is a very positive aspect of the poem, and the fact that they came through all the death and pain is an honourable thing. This poem could be two things, a poem to drive people away from war, and also a poem to show how brave and praiseworthy the soldiers in the war are.
Alex Robbins&Elizabeth Seal
ReplyDeleteIn “The charge of the light brigade”, Tennyson demonstrates that war is a bad thing but also can be a good thing.
“volley’d and thunder’d
Storm’d at with shot and shell
While horse and hero fell
That they had fought so well”
This implies that people are eager to fight because they want to win and they are not afraid to die because they head strait for the enemy although sometimes the brave ones who risk their lives die which shows they are brave. The word “storm’d” shows that they are eager to fight to protect others. I gives us an image of people charging towards the enemy on horses and hundreds of angry faces among them. This is using a “metaphor”. A metaphor is when you imagine in your head that and states one thing is a different object. He thinks that people were brave that they went on the front line and had fought so well because they had the courage to do so and he has said that in his poem because he wants to express his feelings to everybody how he is proud of the soldiers that fought. In this poem Tennyson states that war was not always a bad thing.
Tennyson presents the view of war in the light brigade to be harsh and none stop fighting "stormed with a shot and shell" this shows us that Tennyson's view of the light brigade war was content shooting and bullets flying all over the battle field. The words "shot" and "shell" these sounds create a realistic battle field of the war, the war in the light brigade consisted of 670 men that battled for there side. "Cannon to the right of them" and "Cannon to the left of them” and “Cannon in front of them” this shows us that the poet is explaining that the 670 soldiers were being attacked from all angles.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem the charge of the light brigade, Tennyson expresses a negative yet glorious view of war:
ReplyDelete“Boldly they rode and well,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.”
This implies the pride and fear of war as Tennyson perceived it. The word “boldly” shows the braveness and pride of the soldiers as it suggests that they think that they are doing the right thing, even though they know that they are going to die. The personification of the enemy front line as the “Mouth of hell” could also imply that Tennyson is commending the soldiers by emphasising their bravery because they keep on going and never look back. It could also be showing the horror of war because hell is traditionally a scary place. This shows Tennyson’s negative view of war and therefore could be interpreted as him trying to persuade the reader that war is a horrifying experience.
In ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, Tennyson demonstrates the slightly bitter-sweet victory that comes with war:
ReplyDelete“When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.”
This demonstrates that the honour they still have today is lessened by the views of people who still think this battle was completely unnecessary. The verse above contradicts itself as it implies the prestige isn’t in the past; it then goes on to express, however, that the charge was wild and maybe even a blunder. The term ‘wild charge’ suggests it was total disorder, and the army that fought that day shouldn’t deserve as much gratitude as they are given. Throughout the verse the rhyme links every line to another, making you perceive the impression that maybe the lines are more related then you would have thought. It’s as if Tennyson is half-minded about if the battle was for the greater good or not – as if he’s having an inward battle of his own. Because this poem was written during the battle (1854), it seems to have a closer perception of everything that took place.
Tennyson shows that war claims many lives and not many survive: ‘Back from the mouth of hell, all that was left of them, left of the six hundred’ This implies that escaping war alive is very hard and not everyone survives. The phrase ‘mouth of hell’ illustrates how hard it is to escape because once you die there is no coming back to life, and when you die you go to hell, but Tennyson is implying that the soldiers have gone to hell and they are so brave and heroic they have defeated death and escaped hell. The poet uses repetition as a poetic device ‘left of them, left of the six hundred’ it shows how few of them survived and refers to them as a group instead of just the survivors. The poet uses personification to illustrate his feelings about war ‘the mouth of hell’ this implies that he thinks war is so bad that in his opinion it can be associated with hell and that the 600 charging at those cannons was entering hell and taking the leap from the normal world to the afterlife.
ReplyDeleteIn “The Charge Of The Light Brigade” Tennyson shows both a negative and a positive view.
ReplyDelete“When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the light brigade”
This shows that even though they ran into a war and killed many, they are still heroes. The words “glory” and “honour” shows that Tennyson believes that though they were involved in a ferocious battle, they still need to be represented as people filled with glory. Honour also shows that they fought valiantly and should be represented as brave champions who defended and attacked for their/more land. Tennyson also cleverly uses rhyming in his poem.
In "The Charge of the Light Brigade Tennyson demonstrates that if you are outnumbered you will die.
ReplyDelete"Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns! Into the valley of death!"
This shows that they are willing to fight for dignity and pride, but they know that the mission has a big chance of fatality. The quotation "Into the valley of Death" implies that there is only one way to go in a valley and that is forward and no way back, and they dont intend on going back because they are brave and want to serve there country.
In the “charge of the light brigade” Tennyson demonstrates that, his view of war is a glorious yet horrific place to be:
ReplyDelete“When can their glory fade?
Oh the wild charge they made,
All the world wondered,
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the light brigade,
Noble six hundred”
This quote from the poem implies that though the six hundred men went through terrible and awful experiences they still chose to fight for their country and therefore displays them as glorious heroes that fought even after all was lost. When Tennyson uses the word “honour” this shows that he realised the terror and bravery that was needed to fight in the war. It could also be implied that he is trying to make the army seem like a magnificent and illustrious company to be in and strays from the horror and despair of battle. Another phrase in this verse which has an impact on he poem is “Honour the charge they made, Honour the light brigade.” This gives a different effect to the poem by using repetition, throughout the poem he uses this poetic device.
What view of war does Tennyson show in “Charge of the Light Brigade”?
ReplyDeleteIn “Charge of the Light Brigade”, Tennyson implies that although there were some celebrated moments, war was violent and cruel.
“Plunged through the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke”
This implies the mentally strong attitudes the soldiers presented at the front line of war. The word ‘Plunged’ suggests that the soldiers dived into the battle with lots of enthusiasm and courage which demonstrates that Tennyson thought that the soldiers bravery should be saluted.
Katie and Amelia
Lauren Turner and Matthew Wright
ReplyDeleteWhat view of war does Tennyson show in “The Charge of the Light Brigade”?
In the poem “Charge of the light brigade” Tennyson shows a mixed view on war and describes the pride and justice he feels towards the courage filled soldiers who fought the horrific and barbaric battle. His pride for his country is demonstrated in the quote
“Boldly they rode and well
Into the jaws of death
Into the mouth of hell”
This quote shows perfectly the abstract and contrasting interpretations that Tennyson subtly uses throughout the poem.
The word “boldly” demonstrates that Tennyson is not faulting the choice of the soldiers to take the extreme and obvious risk of charging into a battle field, this shows that the soldiers were fearless and brave enough to enter oblivion itself. Tennyson therefore is making it clear that in agrees with the idea of war at least in a certain sense.
The phrase “Into the mouth of hell” can give two very different interpretations of war. One interpretation could be that the enemy is as sinful and nefarious as hell itself, this metaphor therefore emphasises the bravery of the soldiers as well as their idolism by making it blatant that they are handing themselves directly into the hands of peril and suffering. This shows an agreement with and support of the idea of war.
The other interpretation is that the soldiers are literally about to pass through the red fiery doors of hell due to their committing of a truly horrific sin by killing another. This shows that Tennyson potentially disagrees with the concept of killing even when it is to defend one’s country in the form of war. It is entirely left up to the person who reads the poem which message they take on, this is likely to be influenced by there own opinion on the nature of the Crimean war. The poem therefore could be intended as a thought provoking piece of media designed to help people come to a firm opinion on the war. This links back to the point that the view on war demonstrated in this poem varies significantly.
In “Then Charge of the Light Brigade” Tennyson demonstrates how violent war can be:
ReplyDelete“Cannon to the Right of Them
Cannon to the Left of Them
Cannon in front of them”
This shows how you can not get away from the violence, and how it follows you around in war. The word “Cannon” is an Onomatopia, meaning that it sounds like its meaning. This makes us feel as though we can feel the violence in the surrounding, the cannons going off, and the gun fire. Making us connect to the poem, feel the way the soldiers did. Making us feel for them. The way this quote is worded makes us feel like they are trapped. They Need to go forward but the only way is back. Tennyson, by using this quote, could be saying that we are trapped in war and we need it to move forward.
Charlotte
The view of the war that Tennyson shows in “Charge of the Light Brigade” is very dramatic and life threatening situation:
ReplyDelete“Theirs not the reason why
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death”
This implies that the war was very fierce and it was very frightening.
Tennyson portrays a negative view of war. In ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ Tennyson uses the quote:
ReplyDelete“Into the mouth of hell”
This shows a negative opinion because the word “hell” means a bad place suggesting war is a bad place to be. This will lead the reader to believe that Tennyson is showing an anger towards the British for foolishly going to war
I thnk that Jenny and Chloe's was the best answer as i thought it had all of the criteria for the best answer and was really well done with a lot of effort put into it. As well as having good work they also had a lot of it and it made the answer interesting. C=
ReplyDelete