Clarification of “The Charge of the Light Brigade” In some cases, reading can be done to help clarify what happened during some events, particularly historical. For example, the Battle of Balaclava can be clarified by reading the narrative poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In addition, even more sources may be helpful. In particular, William Howard Russell’s “The Battle of Balaclava” and Amelia Johnson’s “Narrative Poems” can be used to provide further insight of the fight. In conclusion, other sources of information, in this case a narrative poem by Tennyson, can be used to assist in understanding what happened during the Battle of Balaclava.
It should be known that Tennyson’s poem is just like any other story. As “a narrative poem is a poem that tells a story” (Johnson) and Tennyson’s piece is a narrative poem, it contains all of the components of one. Therefore, it has a plot and can be organized in a plot pyramid. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is actually based off of true events; after the disaster, Russell reported on it, which caused a scandal that prompted Tennyson to write his version of the tragedy. The beginning of the
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In addition, it also improves the reader’s understanding. His use of repetition primarily creates an emphasized sense of the Russian assault, for example “Rode the six hundred…. Rode the six hundred…. Rode back, but not, / Not the six hundred” (Tennyson). This ingrains the one phrase into the reader’s head, which makes adding a negative twist much more effective, another example being “Theirs not to make reply, /Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die” (Tennyson). Tennyson also shows the movement, sound, and chaos of the charge by doing this: “Flash’d all their sabers bare, / Flash’d as they turn’d in air” (Tennyson). Together, the poem moves the reader just as much as a story may have, if not