Poem and Song Evaluation

Good evening listeners and welcome to yet another edition of the continuing and enthralling series of The Beat Goes On. Tonight we are looking at the relevance of poetry and song in the 21st century in relation to the theme and the era in which the literature was written. Now I know that some listeners are currently sliding their hand down towards the dial to shuffle the station but please stay and listen to the riveting analysis of two famous pieces of literature from two different moments in history. This program looks at the attitudes and perspectives of war, a theme that is relevant in both modern day culture as well as the many time period prior to ours.
Now we will take a step back to a specific time period, one of solemness and possibly a more hypocritical part of the 19th century. The wars in the Victorian era , produced its fair share of casualties, in contrast, producing some of the most in depth, meaningful poetry of all time. Alfred Tennyson was one of the famous writers that was renounced for his beautiful poem called, The Charge of the Light Brigade, that displays bravery and courage of somewhat normality, instead of a trait that one may wish to adopt. A perfect example of bravery at its peak, and the damages that war can do. This will be followed by a well known song called Zombies by Cranberries, a slow and tender song which displays war from a different perspective and how the war has reflected upon modern society's current relationships regarding the matter.
The audiences at the original release of this beautiful poem would be fully aware of the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, to which this poem was constructed, using the events as Tennyson's inspirations. He wrote this poem in a few minutes after he read an article in the London Times about how 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' rode into battle and very little rode out. His intention was to isolate the determination and strength of these soldiers in the face of tremendous danger and make sure these admirable qualities are honoured.
Now the first text of the night, The Charge of the Light Brigade, starts with the following stanza.
Half a league half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred:
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

The opening lines of this poem immediately throws the reader straight into the battlefield, by ranting chants with the clear intention to drive the reader, both in the way it was written and the continual galloping of the vowel sounds. Tennyson has done this deliberately to attempt to capture the continuous drive of the soldiers heading into battle. The constant repetition of lines like' Rode the six hundred' also emphasises the drive and size of the army, as well as giving the reader an image of 600 people riding into battle. Finally, Tennyson ends with an example of a metaphor when he says 'into the valley of death' which displays the battle as the valley and that all of the soldiers are destine for certain death.

The second stanza reads;

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

The first line of this stanza start with a direct order towards the soldiers to 'Forward, the Light Brigade!' into the battlefield. Tennyson obscured the identity of this speaker, who, when the poem was published, was a man by the name of Lord Nolan, a well-known military figure of the time. By using this technique of making the speaker anonymous, allows the reader to shift the focus from the singularity and specific nature of the poem, allowing the reader to broaden the affects of the poem to look at military leaders in the 21st Century. Even though the soldier realised that the commander had made a terrible mistake, ' Someone had blunder'd' not a single soldier was discouraged or distressed. The role of the soldier is to obey and “not to make reply...not to reason why,” so they followed orders and rode into the “valley of death.” Tennyson deliberately wrote this stanza in order to allow the reader to witness the honourable courage that these soldiers displayed.

Now let's move on the third stanza, which reads;

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

All of a sudden, we are confronted with the blaring noise of cannons going off all around. Tennyson used the first three lines of this stanza to deliberately make the reader feel succumb into the action, into the moment, by making that sense of isolation. It's as if the you are actually there, turning your head to the right, to the left, being surrounded on every flank. Being 'volley'd and thundered' a little play on words maybe? But also powerful imagery to set the scene for the reader. Even though this poem may announce Tennyson's pure hatred for war and violence, it also evokes his undying respect for the soldiers that rode in to battle with their hearts in their mouths.

The next stanza then follows with;

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

The story progresses in this stanza with the soldiers charging at the enemy with full force. Tennyson used the word 'sabres bare' in order to touch upon the romantic side of the reader. The soldiers were seen as the knights in shining armour, and we all know that a soldier mounted on a horse has always had a kind of romantic image right? Tennyson's intention was to further amplify the affects of the men's honourable nature because the blades carried a great symbol of heroism and power. Powerful imagery was expressed in lines such as, ' Right thro' the line they broke' giving the reader an image of six hundred men breaking through the enemy forces. Imagery is also shown in the line, 'Plunged in the battery-smoke' because this displays the men dropping into the fortification and being bombarded with smoke from the weapons. Tennyson's main focus was upon this stanza because this is where the men fought for their country, and died for their country, ' Then they rode back, but not, Not the six hundred'. The last 2 lines leaves the reader pondering the thought of loosing so many men and makes the reader question the militaries capabilities.

Now for the fifth stanza, which is as follows;

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse & hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

During The Charge Of The Light Brigade, the commander realised he had 'blunder'd' and ordered a retreat to which the soldiers did not take lightly. They follow the orders and started to retreat back towards allied lands. The first four lines of this stanza are the exact same as of stanza 3, in order to give the poem a specific structure, keeping that nice feeling of balance. Tennyson used very specific language throughout this poem in order to continue the honouring of the light brigade. Such heroic tones are found in the lines, ' They that had fought so well', 'Came thro' the jaws of Death', ' Back from the mouth of Hell'. All of which produce powerful imagery of the soldiers desperately rushing through the gunfire. This is what Tennyson wanted to achieve, and has achieved, through his use of specific language and powerful imagery.

Now it brings me to the final and my personal favourite stanza, which reads as follows;

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

There is a sudden change of emotion, swinging the maturity into high gear. Tennyson displays the soldier now not of hero's, but of legends that fought through the reign of chaos and came out the other side. It is the Light Brigade's desperate, 'wild' charge that the speaker wants us to remember, wants us to cherish. The tone quickly lightens and a few final commands are made to the reader, as if the speaker were a general. 'Honour the charge they made', ' Honour the light brigade', 'Noble six hundred!' Tennyson simple tells us, point blank, to honour and remember these brave heroes.

In conclusion, the poem expressed the tone of exhilaration and provided the honouring of the brigade through the use of metaphors, powerful imagery and a clever play on words. Alike most poets of the Victorian Era, Tennyson had used emotional inspiration to evoke his explicit imagery and depth. The effective use of strong figurative language allowed him to tie together his structure and the theme of war to which the poem discouraged. Although the poem spoke so negatively about war, the focus was upon the courage and bravery that these men showed and through the use of these techniques, Tennyson was able to create such a magnificent far-reaching poem that has landed on history's page
Just as things were getting interesting, it is now time to move onto the second segment of the evening with an incredibly beautiful song written by Cranberries called Zombies.
The Irish band called the Cranberries created this song in order to reflect and give meaning to the events that happened in their home towns in 1916. In 1916, fighting and conflict in Northern Ireland ignited to new heights. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) rebelled against the current British rule and captured several strategic points in Dublin. This lead to many casualties, the violence had begun and the war for independence was set in motion. Even though this song was released in 1994, they chose to reflect upon the past and turn their innovations into a magnificent piece of literature.
As you listen to the song, the slow, low sounds set the scene for the reader and creates a sense of sadness. The tone of the music is soon accompanied with lyrics which begin; 'Another head hangs slowly' 'child is slowly taken' which reiterates what the music is trying to achieve. The band deliberately created this tone to draw a sense of remorse from the listener, in order to allow the message of the song to stick in the listeners mind. Ultimately, Cranberries wanted to tell the listeners that war and continuous violence is not a plausible action for the human race.
The imagery within the song, combined with the powerful music, heavily contributed to the extended reach of this message. As the song opens “Another head hangs lowly/Child is slowly taken/and the violence caused such silence/who are we mistaken?” is sung out, these lines throw the image of a child being ripped from their mother’s arms. It also portrays the catch 22 of keeping their mouths shut; if the citizens were to tell the government of the threats of the IRA, they will end up in trouble, but if they do not tell they are putting others into danger, leaving the emotional imagery of tension within this segment.
The Irish band has captured the emotion and the tragedy of the fighting in Ireland, which also can be reflected into today's society in regards to the wars we fight against other countries. This poem reflects their cry out against war, a plea for peace, and a startling illustration of the mental anguish resulting from living with continuous violence. The Cranberries took their music and their artistic expression to new heights with this powerful reminder of the effect to both the heart and mind of those engaged - willingly or not - in endless fighting.
Both the song and poem in their entirety speak of war with negative connotations, but in reality wars are what have shaped the world as we know it. As Karl Marx, a famous historian once said, ' Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.' In the modern era, this understanding is kept through use of soldiers, fighting for what is right. If a soldier died during the Battle of Balaclava, it would just be simply overlooked but in a modern era, if a soldier died at war it would shock a nation. Ceremonies would be broadcasted nationwide as if it was the Olympics and plaques would be put up in memorial of the lose. But that in its entirety carves the difference between the Victorian era and modern day society.
That is all we have for tonight but stay tuned next week for a complete book analysis of The Great Gatzy, a famous novel written by one of the most beautifully fluent writers known to literature, F.Scott Fitzgerald. Now, I will leave you with the song, Zombies by Cranberries to bid you farewell for the evening. Ta.Ta