Charge of the Light Brigade Flashcards
Context
Written by Tennyson - Poet Laureate. He was duty bound to glorify war to the British public.
Written about the Crimean War, conflict between Russia + Ottomans, with French and British support to prevent Russian expansion.
What is the effect of the opening?
In media res, thrusts the reader into the action with the repetition of “Half a league”, establishing a tense atmosphere from the onset, causing the listener to view the poem through the lens of threat and risk.
What is the effect of the Title?
Representative of a literal charge. Or, the charge of Tennyson charging the leaders of his country with the deaths of so many people. While he was duty bound to glorify war, he might not have agreed.
What is the Form?
Ballad Form
What is the effect of the Form?
Ballads serve as a way to commemorate the story for future generations to hear about the people who died for the country.
Also used for love, hinting at the love the soldiers are supposed to have for their country.
What is the metre?
Dactylic Dimeter
What is the effect of the metre?
A long syllable followed by two short syllables to mirror the rhythm of a horse running into battle. The rhythm is unrelenting, implying the soldiers have no choice to run into the warfare.
What is the rhyme scheme?
Irregular
What is the effect of the rhyme scheme?
Mostly irregular, creating a sense of chaos of the warfare and death to follow.
What is the effect of the repetition?
Anaphora used in “theirs not to make reply // reason why … theirs but to do an die” reiterates the soldier’s obedience, while also highlighting the lack of individualism.
What is the effect of euphamisms?
Softens the impact of the battle through phrases such as “horse and hero fell”, emphasised through the alliteration. In his role as Poet Laureate, he had to avoid presenting the reality of war.
What is the effect of metaphors?
“Mouth of hell” creates the impression that there is no escape from the valley once entered, possibly alluding to the story of Curtius, who died while riding his horse into hell and killed to save Rome.
Good Quotes
“Valley of death”
“Mouth of Hell”
“Jaws of death”
Analysis of “Valley of Death”
Biblical allusion from the Book of Psalms, in which the protection is provided by God, proving highly ironic given the circumstances of the men.
This could be a criticism by Tennyson of how members of higher ranks should have protected the members of the light brigade.
Symbolises the inevitability of tragedy, with the image of a valley implying the soldiers were surrounded on all sides.
Analysis of “Mouth of Hell”
Repeated twice in the poem, once as they enter the mouth, and once as they came “back”. Highlights the incredible odds that they were able to escape from a place heralded in Christianity as a place for eternal torment, certainly not somewhere a person should be able to escape from.
Creates the impression there is no escape from the valley in the first instance, alluding to the story of the Roman soldier, Curtius, who rode his horse into hell to save Rome.
