Charge of the light brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Charge of the light brigade - Alfred Lord Tennyson

1. Verse 1

   • 'Half a league, half a league, half a league onwards'
     • Anaphora
       • when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of a line or phrase
     • Dactylic metre
       • a pattern of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables
         • E.g. HALF a league, HALF a league
   • 'Charge for the guns!' he said: Into the valley of Death
     • Commander told them & they had to obey even though they were running towards their death

2. Verse 2

   • Some one had blunder'd
     • miscommunication - the army had charged at the wrong time
   • 'Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die.'
     • The 'ordinary' soldiers couldn't question authority
     • anaphora

3. Verse 3

   • 'Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them'
     • Anaphora
     • emphasis that the soldiers are surrounded
   • 'Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell
     • Anaphora
     • Metaphor that the soldiers are walking towards their death

4. Verse 4

   • Even though they were going to lose, they still tried their best

5. Verse 5

   • 'Cannon behind them'
     • Even though the soldiers had turned away, the opposing side still fired at them
   • 'Storm'd at with shot and shell'
     • Use of sibilance replicates the whooshing sound of the bullets in the air
   • 'Left of six hundred'
     • 150 died, 120 injured

6. Verse 6

   • 'When can their glory fade?'
     • rhetorical question - they will never stop being heroes
   • 'Honour the charge the made! Honour the Light Brigade'
     • Anaphora
     • Honour them even though they lost in battle
   • 'Noble six hundred!'
     • Managed to 'spin' the evidence so that the soldiers seemed heroic instead of cowardly