Lord Tennyson is one of the most famous poets of all time and
was a Victorian writer. He wrote poems like Charge of The Light Brigade and In
Memoriam, which became world-famous.
Tennyson's poetry has many significant themes prominent during the Victorian era, of pride and glory; although subtle and indirect, it plays an essential role in the poem's meaning. The following analysis will follow his famous poem, Charge of the Light Brigade.
This poem follows the story of six hundred British soldiers going to war under the false command of their leader but went at the wrong time and died a horrible death. Even after the deaths of more than four hundred people, Tennyson glorified war and was proud of the British soldiers' courage, vigor, and resilience.
Using beautiful literary devices like alliteration, personification, and metaphor, Tennyson wove the tale glorifying war and pride in the poem. Through the anaphoric repetition of phrases like "Cannons to the," the poem has a lyrical sound. It enforces the bravery of the British soldiers who were surrounded by Russian armory and cannons but charged fearlessly into battle, many of them never to be seen again.
It shows that even though death was imminent, "Rode the six hundred." This is a tale of bravery, war, and death, but Tennyson has nearly eliminated the focus on the end of soldiers through his idealistic and patriotic attitude. He, indeed, has talked of the valor and courage of the British soldiers but has not focused much on the possible betrayal of the leader of the brigade who gave a false order, and because of that, more than four hundred soldiers died.
In a different poem by P. B. Shelly, Ozymandias, he also shows conflict and glorification of pride. This poem talks about the statue of the great king Ozymandias, which stands on barren land. It has no torso, the head has fallen, and only the legs are standing. Even though the king is no longer alive, the visage-wearing head of the statue shows that once, he was a great king who ruled "boundless" lands. He now has no power, but he once had it. The plaque beside his statue says, "King of kings," which nearly puts him higher in force above all else.
This shows he was a mighty king with more wisdom, knowledge, and courage than any
other king. Although Ozymandias calls himself great, the conflict might be that
the lands he once ruled are "boundless and bare," meaning that nothing
of his wealth is standing anymore, and his kingdom has broken or fallen apart.
Through extended metaphor, Shelly has portrayed power and command through
Ozymandias's statue. In one line, the poet mentions, "and sneer of cold
command," effectively employing personification and, indirectly, the power and
pride of the king.
During the Victorian era, England was going through significant growth
in terms of economic development. People became proud of the nation's wealth despite their miserable conditions and working long hours with minimum
wages during the Industrial Revolution. The poor conditions of many people in
England show the conflict during the Victorian era, but their progress showed
their pride, even if it was at others' expense.
This article is written by Tayyaba Noor, one of the contributors at the School of Literature.
