This is when Owen faced the true pressures of trench warfare and the mental toll it can take on people if they let the evil force win. Owen went to the Front in the Somme at the beginning of winter of 1916-17. It shows a loss of despair as the soldiers are losing faith by being on ‘pause’ and by being constantly on edge. Also, Owen uses the repetition of ‘…But nothing happens’ which emphasises the agony of waiting and that war is not always about action. The focus moves from the men themselves, to their dreams and finally to their beliefs and by the end of the poem, all three are broken and shattered. Owen conveys the hopelessness of the soldiers by using a harsh shift in focus from stanza six through the end of the poem. It gives a sense of fear in the reader as we understand that the cavalrymen do not have a say in their own fate. ‘Into the valley of Death’ is a metaphor which represents the Light Brigade going into a place which will lead to their unfortunate death. Tennyson also effectively uses imagery, but to create a sense of risk and danger. This could be a symbol of people’s withdrawing interest in the fate of the exposed soldiers as they have their own problems and responsibilities to deal with. ![]() The phrase ‘…glimpsing the sunk fires, glozed with crusted dark-red jewels’ doesn’t reference the cosy, warm feeling given from a newly-lit fire, but references a dying fire where coals are burning through into ashy crusts. ![]() Owen effectively uses imagery to further add to the frustration and fear which the soldiers have on their backs. Also, ‘jaws’ evokes a sense of animalistic behaviour, which presents death and hell as predators hunting the soldiers like prey. ‘Jaws’ connotes to danger and fear, exactly what the Light Brigade felt charging into the artillery. The noun ‘Hell’ could also suggest that the battle which they fought was like being in hell, having fire and shells and explosions everywhere. The nouns ‘mouth’ and ‘jaw’ give a human-like quality to the daunting challenge they face and give a direct contrast to the spiteful nouns of ‘Death’ and ‘Hell’ for further emphasis of the severity of the charge. The cavalrymen are being described as going ‘…Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell’ which suggests they are entering a terrifying trap which they have no escape from. Similarly, Tennyson uses a mix of personification and imagery to represent the brutal terror of the charge. Owen’s poetry was often written in response to the jingoistic poetry published in the press at the time - he was determined that people at home knew the horrors the men faced and the loss of life and morale suffered by so many. The powerful adjective ‘dying’ has connotations of depressing and suffering, which fits perfectly as the men have no escape – they are tremendously vulnerable. The fact the men are thinking about life after death emphasises to the reader the dreadful horrors of trench warfare and how hopeless the regiment must feel this relates to the theme of nature, that Mother Nature has taken over their bodies and the bitter cold is seeping into the depths of their soul. It could also suggest that God’s love for them has died, which leaves doubt as to whether there is an afterlife for them. The men lose faith in God because He is allowing them to painfully die in the cold. The phrase ‘…For love of God seems dying’ creates an evoking effect that even the Christianity in which Owen once believed seems also wrong at this point. Owen uses biblical references to describe the run down feeling the men now constantly experience. ![]() "The Theme Of Loss In The Poems Exposure And Charge Of The Light Brigade" Get custom paper
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