Charge of the Light Brigade

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Cameron Birnie The Charge of the Light Brigade The poem “ The Charge of the Light Brigade” was published by Alfred Tennyson in 1894, and highlights the bravery and futility of war, and the men involved. The charge of the light brigade itself took place on the 25th October 1854 and was a British cavalry charge against Russian and Cossack forces at the battle of Balaclava. It was a result of a miscommunication that resulted a much more difficult objective, to which many men died. In the poem Lord Tennyson uses many different techniques, such as onomatopoeia, repetition and alliteration to build up a dramatic account of the charges stages. In this piece I will assess how he uses certain techniques to present conflict. In the first stanza Tennyson writes about the orders being given and the Light Brigade beginning to charge. The quote “Half a league, half a league, half a league onward” shows an example of repetition, Tennyson uses this technique to emphasise the point of orders being given to the soldiers. The tempo at which this quote is read is that of a horse riding, this further shows that they were beginning their charge on the Russian/Cossack forces. He also uses explanation marks which are not normally used in poems, this use shows the fact that they were orders, not a request and highlights the fact that they had to follow them no matter what. In the second stanza he writes about the Brigade on nearing the enemy forces and how the orders were wrong but are still being carried out. It starts off with a order being given and the use of an explanation mark which emphasises the fact they’re orders. He then uses the words “ Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die: “ this is another use of repetition but also of alliteration. He uses alliteration to make the poem sound good but also to give emphasis to the fact that the
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