charge of the light brigade

Question 1

stanza 1:
“half a league”

Answer 1

• written in a dactyl to give the rhythm of a song to celebrate the sacrifice made by the soldiers
• anaphora, used to create another sense of rhythm

Question 2

stanza 1:
“vallley of death”

Answer 2

christian interpretation:
- biblical allusion, suggests the souls of the dead soliers will be accepted into heaven

Question 3

stanza 2:
“theirs but to do and die”

Answer 3

• alliteration, emphasises the idea that death is inevitable
• “do and die” instead of “do or die”, shows how the death of the soldiers are certain

Question 4

stanza 2:
“someone had blundered”

Answer 4

• referring to the tactical mistake made during the war which led to countless casualties
• vague language, shows how those in power are never responsible for their irresponsible actions

Question 5

stanza 4:
“All the world wondered”

Answer 5

• “wondered”, rhymes with the words “blunderd”, and “six hundred”, hints towards the mistake that the authoritarians have made
• the dactyls in this sentence is disrupted, shows his disrupted thoughts as he questions why these soldiers have been senselessly killed

Question 6

stanza 6:
“all the world wondered”

Answer 6

• repetition, shows how this is a political poem
• he wants the reader to question the sacrifice that the soldiers made and at what cost