GCSE AQA English (Poetry) - Charge of the Light Brigade

Charge of the Light Brigade quotes and context

Author

Alfred Lord Tennyson

dactylic meter, tricolon

Half a league, half a league, / Half a league onward

indefinite pronoun

Some one had blunder’d

biblical allusion, metaphor

Came thro’ the jaws of Death, / Back from the mouth of Hell

juxtaposition

Sabring the gunners

ekphonesis

O the wild charge they made!

anaphora

Theirs not to make reply, / Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die

emphasises chaos and heroism of the Brigade to go through it

inconsistent rhyme/meter/stanzas

Main context

unhappy childhood with abusive father

intense poverty after father left

Appointed poet laureate by Queen Victoria so encouraged to propagandise for war as it was in the interest of the nobility

Comparison - Charge of the Light Brigade x Remains

futility of war

memories

reality of war vs. propaganda

Comparison - Charge of the Light Brigade x War Photographer

duty

memories

reality of war vs. propaganda

Comparison - Charge of the Light Brigade x Exposure

futility of war

criticise repetition of military mistakes

reality of war vs. propaganda

Comparison - Charge of the Light Brigade x Kamikaze

sacrifice

patriotism

glory and honour