![]() ![]() For example, in "Storm'd at with shot and shell" the use of sibilance reflects the viciousness of the attack. Tennyson's use of alliteration creates a visceral effect. By using this biblical allusion - which would have been very familiar to his audience - Tennyson elevates the event to great importance. The strong central image of the "valley of Death" refers to a poem in the Bible - Psalm 23 - about the “valley of the shadow of death”. However, the power of the poem comes from the careful use of imagery and sound effects. ![]() The language of the poem is understandably militaristic – it bristles with guns, soldiers, cannon and sabres. These dangers are presented as being unavoidable - and death inevitable - with the use of personification, "Into the jaws of Death, / Into the mouth of Hell". At each line our eyes meet the word “cannon,” just as the soldiers meet their flying shells at each turn. Here the method creates a sense of unrelenting assault. This means the same word is repeated at the beginning of several consecutive lines, “Cannon to the right of them, / Cannon to the left of them, / Cannon in front of them". Tennyson's heavy use of repetition also communicates the relentlessness of the charge, and the danger all around. The use of falling rhythm is appropriate as The Charge of the Light Brigade focuses on the devastating fall of the army in this particular battle. This means that the stress is on the first beat of each metrical unit, and then weakens for the rest of the length of the meter. ![]() This rhythm echoes the sound and pace of the horses’ hooves whilst reflecting the Light Brigade’s gallop into battle on horseback. The rhythm of the opening lines, “Half a league, half a league, / Half a league onward,” creates a relentless beat which is continued throughout the poem. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |