The Charge of the Light Brigade is a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson,

which revolves around the idea of war. The poem describes the horrors of
war: its devastation, destruction, unfairness However among all this
chaos, the author is able to see a positive side, the bravery of the soldiers.
The poem pretends to praise all those soldiers who died at war. In order to
achieve this, he uses a number of devices that we will be tackling.
The poem starts with a description of someone walking or marching half a
league, half a league/half a league onward, this repetition of words creates
a tense atmosphere. The reader does not jet know where they are heading,
nevertheless the words resound in their heads and the reader already
regrets seeing the walking. The next lines all in the valley of death/Rode
the six hundred establish the setting of the poem. They are at war, an army
of six hundred, and they are heading to the valley of death. This image
valley of Death is really important, because it is already foreshadowing
what is about to come. The reader can imagine an isolated place, where
there is no living creature, and where they will probably die. Another aspect
worth analyzing is the capitalization of the word death. It could be argued
that this word appears in capitals because it is a personification. It is not just
death, but a character, a human-like presence that will kill them. These two
lines will be repeated throughout the poem with slight variations. By doing
this, he is praising the soldiers. They are so bold that even though they
know they will die, they keep on riding. Lines 5 and 6 are a command
charge for the guns and they, dutifully, do it.
The next stanza starts with a repetition of the command given Forward the
Light Brigade. This repetition enables the reader to understand the
command. They are going to die if they follow the order. Which leads the
reader to think whether they will follow it was there a man dismayed?
This rhetoric question emphasizes their bravery. There is a possibility of not
dying, but despite this they follow the command. Even if someone had
blundered, they do not care to die because of someone elses mistake.
Indeed, this is shown in the following triplet theirs not to make reply, /their
not to reason why, /theirs but to do and die The repetition of the rhyme and
the starting words creates the effect of a murmur.
Though its imagery and the use of repetition, Tennyson has achieved a
powerful description of war. He does not talk about which war it is, or the
reasons behind it, instead he focuses on the soldiers bravery.
Another interesting device that he uses is the meter. It is written in dactyl
Demeter (/XX) as in the following lines: Forward the light Brigade/Was there
a man dismayed? This rhythm recalls the sound of horses galloping. They
are sure; there is no hint of hesitations on their march. Therefore, it could be
argued that the meter helps to convey the soldiers honor.
In conclusion, everything in the poem, from the chosen words, images and
meter recall the bravery of the soldiers. They are bold in a very difficult and
horrible situation. Also in this paragraph the idea of unfairness is well

described. War is unfair, a lot of people are going to die because of someone
else fault.