The Theme Of Loss In The Poems Exposure And Charge Of The Light Brigade

Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Exposure’ and Alfred Tennyson’s poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ both explore the theme of loss but in different ways. Owen’s ‘Exposure’ is a misery-filled, first person account of a soldier fighting in WW1; he suggests that all the men with him have lost their personal and religious faith which implies that the once cheerful regiment have hit rock bottom. Owen himself fought and sadly died in the war which resonates with the reader as we realise, he writes from a personal experience and describes his feelings which he has felt first-hand. In contrast, the theme of loss is shown by the loss of 607 cavalrymen, acting on a misinterpreted order, sending them directly into the Russian artillery - a costly mistake. Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’. The poem is set during the ghastly Crimean War and focuses on the huge military catastrophe, but mainly on the bravery and nobility of the young men, and the fact that their lives were wasted.

Owen uses biblical references to describe the run down feeling the men now constantly experience. 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. The men lose faith in God because He is allowing them to painfully die in the cold. 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 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. The powerful adjective ‘dying’ has connotations of depressing and suffering, which fits perfectly as the men have no escape – they are tremendously vulnerable. 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.

Similarly, Tennyson uses a mix of personification and imagery to represent the brutal terror 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. 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 noun ‘Hell’ could also suggest that the battle which they fought was like being in hell, having fire and shells and explosions everywhere. ‘Jaws’ connotes to danger and fear, exactly what the Light Brigade felt charging into the artillery. Also, ‘jaws’ evokes a sense of animalistic behaviour, which presents death and hell as predators hunting the soldiers like prey.

Owen effectively uses imagery to further add to the frustration and fear which the soldiers have on their backs. 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. 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. Tennyson also effectively uses imagery, but to create a sense of risk and danger. ‘Into the valley of Death’ is a metaphor which represents the Light Brigade going into a place which will lead to their unfortunate death. It gives a sense of fear in the reader as we understand that the cavalrymen do not have a say in their own fate.

Owen conveys the hopelessness of the soldiers by using a harsh shift in focus from stanza six through the end of the poem. 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. Also, Owen uses the repetition of ‘…But nothing happens’ which emphasises the agony of waiting and that war is not always about action. It shows a loss of despair as the soldiers are losing faith by being on ‘pause’ and by being constantly on edge. Owen went to the Front in the Somme at the beginning of winter of 1916-17. 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. In contrast, Tennyson wrote his poem in dimeter and dialytic (there are 2 di-stresses in each line, the syllables after them are unstressed) so it gets read aloud like, ONE – two – three. This to the audience sounds like a horse galloping or a sudden charge and collapse movement which could suggest that the soldiers charge into battle, but immediately get shot down which shows a catastrophic, sad loss of life.

In conclusion, both poems present the theme of loss with negative connotations. Owen uses his poetry to convey the harsh reality of war and how the act of war barbaric and inhumane. He highlights how low morale can get and wants to get across to people back at home the terrors he has experienced. To Wilfred, war does not just affect your body, but it affects your mind and the thoughts you have about the world around you. War is simply a game, and soldiers are the unfortunate players. Tennyson mainly highlights the utter heroism, upmost respect and bravery of the British cavalrymen. Even though the soldiers knew that the charge was going to lead to inevitable death, the men followed the orders the best they could which implies the soldiers’ nobleness and patriotism.