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The Charge of the Light Brigade Analysis

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The Charge of the Light Brigade Analysis
The poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson uses strong imagery and figurative language which creates the tone of exhilaration and the theme of honouring the qualities of the Light Brigade. With this imagery he describes the violence of the battle from the lines "Reeled from the sabre-stroke / Shattered and sundered". The strong verbs like "reeled", "shattered", and "sundered" give a clear image of both forces fighting with their sabres.
He also uses metaphors to help describe the dangers that the Brigade faced, which in turn explained the reason to honour the Brigade for their victory. Metaphors are frequently used such as "jaws of Death" to describe the army, the "valley of Death" to describe the battlefield, and "mouth of Hell" to describe the battle.
The poet's most important use of personification is giving death “jaws” that would "swallow up" the Brigade.
A third person point of view is used throughout the poem, most probably a male, the readers think this because the war was described in a very aggressive and harsh manner, whereas a female poet would portray the subject of battle differently.
In addition, Tennyson's use of rhyme scheme with the repetition of statements and words puts emphasis on certain lines which in turn provides development for the tone. The poem's structure is very fragmented, his rhymes were mainly repetition of the same word at the end of the line or the entire line itself, such as:
Cannons to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon in front of them.
The tone of the poem is that of exhilaration, the heat of the battle. Throughout the poem, Tennyson gives examples of dangerous situations and events that the Brigade got into providing exhilaration to the battle. An example of this was when the Brigade "plunged in the battery-smoke" (30). This phrase shows how the soldiers helped fuel their determination.
Tennyson's goal was to help everyone in general realize and honour the bravery and determination of the soldiers who fought.
In conclusion, the poem used a wide variety of personification, imagery, figures of speeches, and other poetic devices to provide to the tone of exhilaration and the theme of honouring the Brigade. Tennyson efficiently used strong figurative language and structure to tie together the reasoning behind the theme and tone of the poem.

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