Reflection of Poems by Lord Tennyson

I was surprised as to how Lord Tennyson could write two unique poems about the most opposite of topics, yet at the same time, I feel that they relate to each other. "The Charge of Light Brigade" is a poem all about the casualties of World War I and how gruesome it is. The soldiers continue to go on with orders from their commander without question because the role of a soldier is to obey. Soldiers become more gruesome as the days gone on whilst in war. They care less about the people they kill and do not have any feelings of remorse after a while. Killing becomes their job and their only means of survival. Tennyson's poem "Flower in the Crannied Wall" is about what most people would think to be obvious, a flower. From what I can see, since I read this poem second, it is a metaphor, a reference to the people of a community. The flower is a person. It is saying that a flower is so unique, so beautiful, and so confusing at the same time. It is hiding in the cracks of the wall and if only we could understand why. If we could figure out what it is, then we would know more about God and the rest of mankind. The flower is a reference to war as well as Tennyson's first poem. It is wondering what the individuality and uniqueness of a person in a community is. Sometimes during the times of war, we forget that our enemies are people too. We are all children of God and each man is unique in their own way. Some men in war have their own families back home, whether it be parents, siblings, a wife, or children of their own, but they are all fighting to survive to return to their homes. Once we realize this, we realize that without each other, the world could not function. In the end we are all the same. The loss of loved ones in war produce effects on other people of our community, just like the loss of light to a flower in the cracks of a wall can make it wilt. The metaphor of the flower in the wall also refers to the fact that the flower will eventually die hiding in the crannied wall because it is harder for sunlight and water to reach it. It is a metaphor saying that all the people of the community will eventually die, just like the flower, whether in be in war or from natural causes, but we will all die at some point in our lives.