Grade 9 AQA GCSE English literature Poetry Anthology Power and conflict - The Charge of The Light Brigade & Bayonet Charge

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COMPARISON BETWEEN THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT
BRIGADE AND BAYONET CHARGE


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Both ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ and ‘Bayonet Charge’ explore danger at war. In the
opening section of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, as the soldiers charge towards their
deaths, Tennyson makes clear they are in danger by writing ‘cannon to right of them,
cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them’. Tennyson’s use of these words creates
powerful imagery of the soldiers charging bravely into enemy cannon fire. Tennyson’s



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repetition of the word ‘cannon’ emphasises the danger the soldiers are in by demonstrating
that the soldiers are being fired at from all sides. As poet laureate, Tennsyon not only
wished to tell the story of the battle to his Victorian readers but also aimed to ensure that
the readers celebrated the bravery of the soldiers. It was therefore imperative that the
danger was evident within his poem. Hughes similarly conveys the danger of war in ‘Bayonet
Charge’, where we also see a soldier charging bravely towards the enemy. In the opening



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stanza, Hughes portrays the danger the soldier is in by writing ‘bullets smacking the belly
out of the air’. Hughes personifies the air as a person being winded by the number and force
of the bullets to demonstrate the danger the soldier is in, as he narrowly avoids being hit.
Hughes’s use of the word ‘smacking’ mimics the sound of the bullets violently beating
against the air. Hughes’s descriptions help the reader to vividly imagine the terror that
soldiers in World War One must have experienced as they ran through no-man’s land with



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bullets flying at them from all sides. The danger is also reflected through Hughes’s
combination of enjambment and dashes throughout the poem, which create stop-start
motion, mirroring the terror and confusion the soldier feels as he charges. It is clear from
both poems that war can be fatal.
Both poems explore duty at war. In the opening section of his poem, Tennyson
demonstrates that the soldiers do not question their officers by writing ‘theirs not to make


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reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die’. Tennyson’s repetition of the words
‘theirs not to’ emphasises the soldiers’ lack of questioning as they charge towards their
death; it seems they understand that they must do their duty. 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. This is
further reflected through Tennyson’s use of rhyme and repetition, which create a very


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tightly controlled structure, perhaps mirroring the control maintained over the soldiers. As
poet laureate, Tennyson was expected to write poems that aroused feelings of patriotism in
his readers and celebrate the British war effort. For this reason, Tennyson does not draw
attention to the mistakes made by the commander, instead celebrating the duty the soldiers
show to their country. Similarly, in the second stanza of ‘Bayonet Charge’, Hughes makes
clear the soldier feels duty bound to stay at war by comparing war to ‘cold clockwork’,



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which the soldier is just a small part of. Hughes’s use of these words creates powerful
imagery of a large clock, with the hand ticking relentlessly, without feeling. Through this
image, Hughes could be highlighting the inhumanity of war and the lack of emotion soldiers
are expected to feel. This is particularly emphasised through his use of the word ‘cold’,
which implies that there is lack of warmth and humanity in warfare. Hughes’s soldier, like





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