The Charge Of The Light Brigade - Graded Assignment

How does the poet create a sense of valour and excitement in the rest of the poem?

Throughout the entire poem, the poet used imagery, with the help of personification and
repetition, to create a sense of valour and excitement. “Boldly they rode and well,/ Into the
Jaws of Death/ Into the mouth of hell”, with “Jaws of Death” and “Mouth of hell” suggesting
how an idea like death is personified as it is given human or animal features to create an image.
“Hell” and “death” also reinforce the idea of courage as they continued despite the odds and
“boldly” rode into such places that are inescapable and might end their lives in a gruesome and
painful manner. This creates a sense of valour and excitement. “Cannons in front of them/
Volleyed and thundered;/ Stormed at with shot and shell,” accentuates the concept of strong
sensory imagery of sound to hear the cannon fire, enunciating a sense of excitement. The
soldiers also, “Flashed all their sabres bare/ Flashed as they turn'd in air/ Sabring the gunners
there”, with “sabres”, being defined as swords, symbolising heroism and power, while the
repetition of the monosyllabic word “flashed” giving a sense of speed of the attack and death,
creating a powerful image of the cavalry using their swords. “Sabring the gunners there”
suggests that the brigade not only made a brave charge and got slaughtered, but also killed
their enemies. This re-emphasises the sense of valour. “Into the valley of death” is repeated
many times, with “valley” not only creating the image of walls surrounding the battle, but
referring to graves which are below ground level and being surrounded by walls as well and
“valley of death” creates a gory image of how death is inevitable. This suggests how the poet
wants the attention of the readers’ to be on the valiance and fearlessness of the soldiers and it
also implies how much the soldiers were risking when they rode into the battlefield, providing a
sense of valour. Ultimately, the poet uses the concept of imagery, backed up by personification
and repetition, to create a sense of valour and excitement, until the end of the poem.

Throughout the poem, the poet uses juxtaposition, with the help of the use of rhyme and irony,
to create a sense of valour and excitement. When the soldiers were heading on to war, “into
the valley of Death/Rode the six hundred” suggests that the soldiers knew that the odds were
against them. However, this idea is juxtaposed as, “(t)heirs not to make reply/ (t)heirs not to
reason why/ (t)heirs but to do and die”, suggests that the soldiers were valiant and
unquestioning, reinforcing the concept of verbal irony, further highlighting the sense of valour.
“Theirs” in the statement as well as, “cannon to the right of them,/ cannon to the left of them,/
cannon in front of them,” also utilizes a sense of rhyme, making the poem sound like a chant,
which ironises the reality of the battle. This suggests how courageous the soldiers were as they
pushed aside their fears and persevered onto the battlefield as the rhyme scheme sounds like
the marching of soldiers’ feet, suggesting the sense of valour. “Rode the six hundred” suggests
how small the group of soldiers were going into war, and how there is little chance of them
surviving the war. However, at the end of the war, the idea is juxtaposed as, “when can their
glory fade?/ O the wild charge they made!” suggests how the brigade had to work painstakingly
hard to win the war and overcame all the odds, reinforcing the sense of valour. Conclusively,
juxtaposition is used by the poet, supported with the use of rhyme and irony, to contrast the
various differing ideas, creating a sense of valour and excitement in the poem.

Now this is what I expect of you Ms Vasuda. Much better.

21/25