A Poet’s Mindset on War and Its Consequences Essay

In this essay the two poems being discussed are hawk roosting and charge of the light brigade, their outlook on war and conflict will be analysed with contrasts and similarities studied. Hawk Roosting is a very powerful poem the title suggests that the hawk is very comfortable in its position at the ‘top of the world’ and there is more to the poem then first meets the eye. Ted Hughes writes the poem putting himself into the body and mind of a hawk. The hawk is portrayed as an arrogant power hungry being and Hughes is very good at showing the way the hawks mind works in a number of different situations and in different places. The themes throughout most of the poem revolve around power, ignorance and self-indulgence much like many powerful people of the world today as this poem compares the mind-set of a hawk to a modern day dictator. The hawk itself represents power and ignorance at the same time because he thinks that he is the most important animal in the woods and he is ignorant to the fact that he cannot have everything, in the poem Hughes shows this very well by using lots of emotive language and description about how the hawk thinks. The opening line, I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed, is referring to the hierarchy of the wood. The hawk thinks of itself as the king of the woods, he is unchallenged and fearless. Hughes goes on to say that the hawk wants or needs nothing, no falsifying dream, his dreams are not something that he wants he already has everything he wants his dreams are his reality. Hughes mentions the hawks hooked head and hooked feet next, Hughes is describing these because they are his weapons, his tools for killing, he is proud of them because they have helped him into the position at the top of the food chain and, as the hawk thinks, to the top of the world. The hawk is remembering his perfect kills and rehearsing for the next time he needs to eat, or just wants to kill. Hughes writes kills before eats suggesting that to the hawk, killing is more important than eating. Even if the hawk did not have to eat to survive he would kill, just for the fun and thrill, almost as if it was his duty, it was what he was made for. The hawks perspective then shifts to his domain, the convenience of the high trees, he sits at the top of the wood using the high trees as an advantage to him so that he can see everything that is going on beneath him, he is like a manager watching all his employees from a distance. The last line in this stanza shows that the hawk thinks it is more important than the Earth itself, the hawk seems to think that the Earth is subservient to him. This entire poem represents a dictator or tyrant, they believe they are a the highest power or in relation to the poem, top of the food chain, they are untouchable for if anyone was out of line then there would be no problem taking care of it with the arms at the tyrants disposal much like the claws and beak of the hawk overpowering prey and relentlessly ripping it apart. The whole effect of the poem on the reader almost makes the reader feel somewhat insignificant, vulnerable and even threatened, as the hawk tells of how it, like a juggernaut, crushes all in his path with ease and without hesitation. During parts of the poem where the hawk boasts of its power the structure of the sentences emphasis its authority, yet in sentences where the hawk glides over the woodland and all in it the sentences flow into each other. Whereas charge of in the light brigade the theme of the poem is associated with pride in battle, selflessness, and true bravery. The soldiers in Charge of the Light Brigade have obviously fell victim to a tragic mistake from their lieutenant to ride into battle against thousands although they had only six hundred brave men The poem is very regular in it structure, with several examples of repetition. The Charge of the Light Brigade is a narrative poem, with each of the stanzas intensifying the story of the attack. The rhythm of the opening lines creates a relentless beat which is continued throughout the poem, reflecting the riding of the Light Brigade into battle on horseback. Tennyson’s heavy use of repetition in the poem is perhaps intended to communicate the relentlessness of the charge, and of the dangers faced by the Brigade. These dangers are presented as being unavoidable, with death inevitable â€Å"Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them† — â€Å"Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell† The final two lines of the first three stanzas act as a refrain, depicting realization of the inevitability of death regardless of the blind valor projected. Tennyson’s use of alliteration creates a more visceral effect, that is, it helps to create a realistic and powerful description. Tennyson uses a rhetorical question at the beginning of the final stanza: â€Å"When can their glory fade?† After the five previous stanzas the answer to this question is clear: their glory should not fade, as their sacrifice is symbolic of all those who sacrifice their lives for the country. The poem offers a balance of glorious language, which celebrates the Brigade, and graphic description of the danger they faced. In conclusion, these poets’ attitude to conflict is very different, Ted Hughes sees the power behind war and concentrates on the behavior of leaders and their control over their followers, however Alfred Tennyson concentrates on the soldiers patriotism and heroism in battle this Is influenced in no small part I imagine because he was poet laureate of the Crown.