Compare and contrast Tennysons The Charge Of The Light Brigade and Wallaces War Essay Example

took part in the battle, only 200 survived to share their account. The opening stanza of the poem starts with "half a league, half a league, half a league onward" which creates the rhythmic sound of horses charging into war. The following line mentions "the valley of death" from Psalm 23, adding gravitas to the poem and indicating that the outcome may not be positive. The poem then exclaims "forward the light brigade! Charge for the guns" which, while not accurate to the actual battle, adds urgency and heroism like something from a legend. This part of the poem was invented and not based on fact.

The poem repeats the phrase "rode the 600" at the end, while also using "forward the light brigade" in stanza two as a repetition of the first stanza's rallying cry. The poem goes on to highlight that despite knowing someone had made a mistake, soldiers were not to question their superiors but instead carry out their duty with a willingness to die for glory. Tennyson believed that Russell's report implied officer mistakes. The repetition of "into the valley of death" and "rode the 600" adds to the poem's rhythm and reflects the sound of hooves.

Stanza 3 of the poem surrounds the soldiers with cannons. The verse describes cannons on all sides of the soldiers, which creates a dramatic effect and reflects the sound of cannon fire. The verse uses onomatopoeic words like "thundered" to imitate the sound of cannon fire. It also uses words beginning with 's' to create a feeling of cannon balls whizzing past the soldiers. The metaphor "into the jaws of death" is used to suggest

that the soldiers were on their way to die, although it was only a figure of speech. In Russell's report, he notes that they went "into open iron mouths".

It reiterated the ride of the 600, with stanza 4 featuring the phrase "flashed sabres bare" which is both repeated and onomatopoeic. In Russell's report, he describes "halos of flashing steel" above the soldiers' heads. The soldiers charged the enemy, sabring gunners and facing overwhelming odds, while the world watched in awe and disbelief, urging them on to greatness.

The poem describes a battle reminiscent of an Arthurian legend, with fearless heroes charging on horses and shining swords. The use of words such as "plunged," "broke," "reeled," "shattered," and "sundered" reflect the violent nature of the battle, where swords were swung fiercely. The second to the last line creates a dramatic pause by stating that they rode back, but not the 600. In Stanza 5, the cannons surrounded them, with cannonfire coming from all directions - to the right, left, and behind them. The line "stormed with shot and shell, white horse down and hero fell" is a nod to historical battle poetry. Despite the violence, the poem focuses on those who fought bravely and survived rather than those who were senselessly killed.

The text mentions "the jaws of death" again and refers to "left of the 600" before concluding with the rhetorical question "when will their glory fade?" The focus is on honoring the soldiers and their nobility rather than dwelling on their deaths. The final line immortalizes the "noble 600" and emphasizes the importance of remembering their sacrifice.