The use of the metaphor helps to convey that the valley is where many men are soon to die. One of Tennyson’s main points is the courage of the British troops:
“Boldly they rode and well”
I feel by using the adverb at the beginning of the sentence makes it very memorable. It emphasises the courage of the British soldiers. This act of bravery on behalf of the troops makes me feel proud about our long and war-riddled history. This sentence has an aura of passion and love for their country; it shows that even in the face of adversity they still managed to hold their heads high. The odds were against them. The danger they faced during this battle was immense, and the fact that after the battle four hundred men were still alive, astonished me greatly. I feel Tennyson conveys this excellently by saying:
“Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.”
This adds to their already heroic status by showing they have a great will to survive and to win this battle. The use of the personification “jaws of death” creates a vivid picture of the soldiers persevering through horrendous times to be triumphant and escape with their lives. The second personification in the next line “mouth of hell” emphasises the great struggle they faced to become victors. Both these personifications create an image of the valley mouth attempting to devour the victorious soldiers but they only narrowly escaped dying and entering hell. It also emphasises how lucky they are to escape this great battle.
Tennyson, with specific word choice, increases the effectiveness of how memorable and vivid the poem is. In stanza three he describes the position of the Russian cannons as the British soldiers attack them:
“Cannon to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon in front of them”
This helps us easily to paint a vivid and memorable picture of the predicament the soldiers were facing. I can easily picture these huge cannons staring down the light brigade’s throat as they were surrounded on three sides, and that adds to the achievement that they accomplished as it was in a very difficult situation. Continuing in stanza three Tennyson uses a alliteration which increases the tension and makes it very vivid stanza:
“Storm’d at with shot and shell,”
This alliteration, I feel, brings you into the poem as you can effortlessly imagine cannon balls whizzing past your ear as you stand on the battle field shoulder to shoulder with great heroes. You can hear the thunderous crack of the rifles as they are being fired at the advancing soldiers. You can create a mental picture of the maelstrom of the raging battle. This alliteration brings the whole poem to life.
Others may argue that “The Charge of the Light Brigade” was nothing more than a misguided action, which led to the unnecessary death of more than two hundred men. Had the orders been accurately conveyed the loss of life would have been greatly reduced. This poem glorifies war which I think is misleading and war should not be depicted like this. However the use of the technical devices stirs the soul and makes it a very memorable and vivid poem that tells the story of great heroics to complete this deadly mission and to come out alive.
