charge of the light brigade

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  • Created by: uzzoo
  • Created on: 29-04-17 19:20
Idea
Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" is an 1854 narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.
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form and structure
The poem has a strong rhythm. For example "half a league, half a league" two light beats followed by a heavy beat expresses the sound of the horses galloping. There are six numbered stanzas, as if each stanza is a memorial stone to 100 of the 600 ca
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The first three stanzas - the Light Brigade is approaching the guns
There is a strong structure. Three lines (of three six-to-seven syllables) are followed by a shorter line (five syllables: "rode the six hundred"). This pattern suggests the strong formation in which the cavalry charge.
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Stanza two –
the Light Brigade has engaged the enemy so the longer stanzas describe the struggle. The structure starts to break down. The rhythm of stanza four, for example, is broken by four shorter lines, while stanza five has only two short lines (lines 42 and
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Stanza six
is a short, sharp conclusion written as if they are the lines we should remember the Light Brigade by. Language and Imagery The language of the poem is understandably military: guns, soldiers, cannon, sabres and gunners set the scene. The power of t
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Imagery
The strong central image of the "valley of Death" (lines 3,7 and 16) refers to a well-known poem in the bible - Psalm 23 - about the 'valley of the shadow of death'. By using this Biblical allusion, Tennyson shows how important the
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Sound
Tennyson uses a wide variety of techniques to provide the poem with highly effective sound effects. Alliteration, for example, is used to express the sounds of battle. Note the sound of bullets in line 22 ("shot and shell"). The poem has a strong rhy
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

The poem has a strong rhythm. For example "half a league, half a league" two light beats followed by a heavy beat expresses the sound of the horses galloping. There are six numbered stanzas, as if each stanza is a memorial stone to 100 of the 600 ca

Back

form and structure

Card 3

Front

There is a strong structure. Three lines (of three six-to-seven syllables) are followed by a shorter line (five syllables: "rode the six hundred"). This pattern suggests the strong formation in which the cavalry charge.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

the Light Brigade has engaged the enemy so the longer stanzas describe the struggle. The structure starts to break down. The rhythm of stanza four, for example, is broken by four shorter lines, while stanza five has only two short lines (lines 42 and

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

is a short, sharp conclusion written as if they are the lines we should remember the Light Brigade by. Language and Imagery The language of the poem is understandably military: guns, soldiers, cannon, sabres and gunners set the scene. The power of t

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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