The Charge Of The Light Brigade

Question 1

Form

Answer 1

Narrated in the third person as if telling a story

Regular rhythm - like a horses rhythm

Some rhyming couplets to show momentum of war and then broken to signify horses falling

Rhyme and repetition - soldiers obedience and sense they know they will get killed

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

1,2 and 3 - to the charge and commitment
“Rode the six hundred”

4 - battle
“Not the six hundred”

5 - retreat
“Left the six hundred”

6 - the glory of the soldiers
“Noble six hundred”

Question 3

Language

Answer 3

Heroic language
- “boldly”, “charging” emphasises the soldiers bravery and how they should be remembered for their sacrifice

Violent language
-“vollyed” “charged”
Action in war
Sibilance of “sabre stroke” shows swords clashing

Hyperbolic language
-“Valley of death” “jaws of death, mouth of Hell”
Biblical references. Make it significant

Question 4

Admiration and patriotism

Answer 4

Tennyson emphasises the bravery and sacrifice the men made

Question 5

Repetition

Answer 5

“Half a league”
Idea of things being done again and again

Stanza 3 and 5 are similar
They symbolise all individual soldiers being one unit

Question 6

Context

Answer 6

Alfred Tennyson was poet laureate and based his poem in a newspaper report

Wasn’t actually in the war