Grade 9 'Charge of the Light Brigade' Revision - Power and Conflict Poetry
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
Detailed resource produced by a Grade 9 student, taught by a teacher experienced in marking for the AQA exam board, revising quotations for the theme of war/conflict in ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’.
The analysis of each quote is broken down into bullet points, covering AO1, AO2 and AO3 (con...
CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
War/Conflict
The poet presents death as an inevitable consequence of conflict – “valley of Death” “jaws
of”
Here, the personification of the abstract noun “Death” presents it as the owner of the
valley and perhaps the true enemy; death is the thing most feared by the soldiers, and
the capitalisation of the noun highlights the significance it holds because of this
Meanwhile, the rather positive noun “valley” evokes a patriotic image of the English
countryside, suggesting that the soldiers are simply doing what they believe is right
and are fighting for their country. However, its replacement with the sinister plural
“jaws” later in the poem (“jaws of Death”) illustrates the menacing reality of war,
suggesting that the soldiers cannot escape the consequences of conflict; this graphic
depiction of conflict may be reflecting how the horrors of war were detailed in
newspapers for the first time during the Crimean War.
The poet presents conflict as inescapable and the bravery of the soldiers – “Cannon to the
right of them” “left” “in front”
Here, the use of a triadic structure emphasises how the soldiers were completely
surrounded and mirrors them moving closer towards the enemy; its repetition could be
replicating the sound of gunfire.
The prepositions create vivid imagery, highlighting the soldiers’ bravery as they
continue fighting; the fact that the cannon become “in front” of the soldiers may
illustrate how only death lies ahead of them, emphasising the consequences which
arose from the misunderstood order during the Battle of Balaclava.
The action during the battle is presented – “Flash’d all their sabres bare”
The repetition of the violent verb “flash’d” here, combined with it starting a new line
and stanza, emphasises the increased pace of action during the conflict; the use of
plosives and sibilance mirror the sound of swords clashing and gunfire, creating a
powerful image, although it could also demonstrate the swiftness of their death.
The plural “sabres”, as part of the semantic field of warfare, illustrates the differences
in weapon amongst the soldiers and thus emphasises their bravery, as these are no
match for gunfire – the British had swords during this battle whereas the Russians had
guns.
The collective possessive pronoun “their” presents the soldiers as a united, powerful
unit, illustrating how they are all fighting together until the death.
Poems to Compare To:
War/Conflict – Exposure (pain + death experienced, no escape, humans are the enemy vs
nature as the enemy)
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