Charge of the Light Brigade

• All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred

  This hyperbolic metaphor emphasises the soldiers' bravery as they ride into war and their deaths unknowingly. This phrase is repeated throughout the poem to constantly remind them of the deadly battle. The pronoun ‘all’ creates a sense of unity and comradeship of their soldiers. The soldiers being referred to as ‘six hundred’, shows they are identified by their military roles and this might be an implicit criticism from Tennyson throughout the poem towards those in charge. This shows the soldiers were denied an individual identity.
• All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred


  Furthermore, a ‘valley’ is usually where things grow and Tennyson beautifies the death of the soldiers and this is a reference to the bible to allude to the fact that soldiers almost transcend humanity and find comfort in god, knowing he is with them.
• Volleyed and thundered; Stormed at with shot and shell


  The onomatopoeic phrase ‘volleyed and thundered’ evokes the reader’s senses and you can hear the violence. ‘Volleyed’ shows the attack was incessant and unstoppable and ‘thundered’ connotes destruction. The pathetic fallacy reflected the mood and using this shows that the soldiers cannot win as they are fighting something inevitable and superior to human strength. A sinister tone is also created through the use of sibilance as if the attack is vicious but it also mimics the hissing sound of warfare.
• Into the jaws of Death Into the mouth of hell’

  The animal imagery of ‘jaws’ makes the battle seem brutal and ferocious. It also shows that the deaths are callous and inhumane and this could be a subtle criticism of the enemies. The metaphor ‘jaws of death’ makes it seem that death is unavoidable and painful. It also reveals that the soldiers are being consumed by all the violence around them as they enter ‘hell’ making the battle seem like a punishment and creating a sense of the stifling heat like hell itself