Charge Of The Light Brigade Flashcards
form
the poems narrated in third person making it seem like a story
regular relentless rhythm creates a fast pace imitating the energy of the cavalry . rhyming couplets and triplets drive the poem forwards but the momentum is broken by unrhymed lines which could mirror the horses stumbling or soldiers falling. overall lack of rhyme scheme suggest chaos in battle
“half a league half a league half a league onward”- sounds like galloping horses suggesting they are unstoppable
Structure
tells the story in chronological order from charge of me in first three stanzas to battle in fourth and retreat in fifth , final stanza is shorter and summarizes the heroism of the brigade
repetition
creates a sense of impending doom and inevitability
repetition of ‘six hundred’ at the end of each stanza reinforces the idea of large numbers of men involved
“theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die” - repetition and rhyme emphasise the soldiers obedience and sense of duty even though death is almost certain
“cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon in front of them”- repetition at the start and end of the lines reflects the way the soldiers are surrounded by the enemies guns and replicates the sound of gunfire
“rode the six hundred” - first three stanzas end with the same line to remind us of the number of soldiers
“but not, not the six hundred”- repetition of not emphasises the fact that some of the bridgade have been killed and creates a broken stuttering effect making it sound as if the speaker is upset
“cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon behind them” similar to stanza 3 but the soldiers are now retreating
“all that was left of them , left of the six hundred”- repetition of ‘left of’ reminds us of the lives lost and makes the poem sad
” honour the charge they made! honour the light brigade” leaves the reader with the idea the cavalry should be honoured
heroic language
adverbs such as ‘boldly’ and verbs like ‘charging’ emphasise the mens bravery. respectful lang shows how the narrator feels the soldiers should be remembered
“all the world wonder’d” - double meaning - could mean that people marvelled at their bravery or they wondered why they had been sent on the charge
” horse and hero fell, they that had fought so well” - sense of admiration is touched with sadness
” when can their glory fade?” - challenges the reader
“o the wild charge they made”- dramatic and daring
violent lang
powerful verbs and adjectives used to give a strong sense of violence and uses sounds to create a vivid noisy hellish setting
“valley of death”- sounds sinister, the reader is warned from beginning that something bad will happen
“shot and shell”- sibilance to reinforce idea of bullets flying towards them
” jaws of death … mouth of hell” - imagery personifies death and hell and make them seem insecapable
“sabring the gunners there”- reminds reader the calvary with swords were up againsts russians with guns
“charging”,”plunged”, “reel’d”- lines start with verbs to emphasise action and increasing pace of poem
“sabre stroke shatter’d and sunder’d” sibilance sounds vicious
“volley’d and thunder’d” - powerdul onomatopoeic verbs suggest noise form cannons
