How is battle represented in the Charge Of The Light Brigade and Henry V?
The poem Charge of the Light Brigade, written by Alfred Lord Tennyson, is based on the battle of Balaclava which took place on the 25th October 1854 in the Crimean war. Act 4 Scene 3 of the Shakespearean play, “Henry V”, contains a speech which King Henry V gave to inspire and motivate his soldiers before they go to fight in the battle of Agincourt which took place in France 441 years earlier, Friday 25th October, 1415. Both the poem and the speech are about war, courage and honour.
Tennyson uses language to show that battle is horrifying experience yet an honour. This is shown in the quote.” Storm’d at with shot and shell while horse and hero fell”. This line, indicates how battle is horrific and dangerous because if the reader imagined a soldier having bullets and shells bombarding him they would feel that it was a truly horrifying experience. The line, “horse and hero fell”, emphasises that even though they fell, they are still heroes. The,”hero”, refers to the soldiers. This proves that it is an honour to fight for your country, to die for your country, because then the whole country and others that hear of the battle will think of you as a brave hero.
Shakespeare uses language to illustrate that to fight in battle is an honour. He portrays this with the quote, ”God’s peace, I would not lose so great an honor”. This quote shows that the honour Henry V would receive from fighting in battle would be so great that he hopes that god will not let him lose it. This displays that fighting in battle gives a great honour. This also shows that honour is an extremely important motivation for the soldiers in battle.
Shakespeare has a positive attitude to battle which shows that it is honourable to be in battle. This is shown by the quote, “But if it be a sinne to covet Honor, I am the most offending soule alive.” This quote shows that Henry wants honor so much that he is ready to...