Light Brigade Flashcards
“half a league, half a league, half a league onward”
Technique: Dactyl - emphasis on 1st syllable of 3. Gives the poem the rhythm of a ballad.
Anaphora: “Half a league Half a league” recreates the sound of the horse hooves.
“Valley of death” - Allusion to Psalm 23. Gives the poem a Christian background.
“Theirs but to do and die”
Alliteration of “d” emphasis death is near.
Tennyson includes “and” to show there is no escape.
“while All the world wondered”
“wondered” shows the rest of the world thinking how could the British sacrifice the six hundred needlessly.
“All the world wondered”
Emphasises the fact that Tennyson doesn’t want the reader to leave without questioning what has happened. The poem is celebrating the honour of these men but he also wants us to question the order.
“Honour
Honour”
Anaphora of imperative verbs instructs readers to celebrate the charge the men made.
As Poet Laureate, Tennyson feels a patriotic duty to defend the decision of the establishment, so he cannot publicly criticise the order.
