Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Ezra Pound's "The Charge of the Bread Brigade," the reader encounters a parody of Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade," a romanticized tribute to the heroism of British soldiers during the Crimean War. But where Tennyson extolled the virtues of unquestioning obedience and courage in the face of danger, Pound delivers a caustic critique of a society that exploits and marginalizes its most vulnerable citizens.

The "ten million" referenced in Pound's poem are not soldiers going valiantly into battle; they are "hungry blokes," "slouching and mouching," with "no steady trade," marginalized by a society that has little use for them except as a source of cheap labor or as a scapegoat for its own failures. The poem doesn't merely describe the ten million but ridicules them through derogatory terms like "dundering dullards," "lousy," and "cowed and crouching." This ridicule, however, is not aimed at the ten million themselves but rather at a society that reduces them to such a state. It's a society that views them as a disposable, 'unwanted' mass, expressed in the recurring phrase, "Damn the ten million!"

The poem employs the rhythm and structure of Tennyson's original to lampoon not just the subjects but also the very form of jingoistic, nationalistic poetry. Tennyson's "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die," becomes Pound's "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to buy the pie," transforming an assertion of noble sacrifice into a commentary on economic desperation.

One of the most piercing aspects of Pound's poem is its examination of media and propaganda, embodied in the character of Baron Beaverbrook, a British newspaper magnate. Where once the nation was inspired by tales of heroism, it's now fed "hogwash," shallow stories, and distractions that keep the public from questioning the underlying inequities that make the existence of the "ten million" possible.

The "Monty" reference is to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, affectionately known as "Monty," who was a prominent British Army officer during World War II. Montgomery's leadership in battles like El Alamein made him a national hero, but his involvement in other engagements were not as successful but much less discussed.

Thus, the poem functions on multiple levels: as a social critique, as a parody, and as a lament. It criticizes a society that both produces and then disregards its underclass while also mocking the literary and media forms that glorify or obscure that harsh reality. But underneath the satire lies a poignant sense of loss, an implicit comparison between the valorized soldiers of Tennyson's poem and the neglected millions of Pound's, raising the question of what kinds of heroism go uncelebrated-and at what cost.

Pound is critiquing a system that marginalizes a significant portion of its population, dismissing them as unworthy or irrelevant, then numbing the rest of society to their plight through sensationalized media. And though the poem has its roots in Pound's contemporary social and economic landscape, its themes resonate far beyond, into our current age. It remains an uncomfortable but essential mirror, challenging us to consider who we overlook, underestimate, or 'damn'-and why.

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