The Charge of the Light Brigade

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” contains 55 lines divided into six stanzas of varying lengths. The lines are even, employing dactylic dimeter, or two dactyls per line, which each contain a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones. For example, “They that had fought so well / Came through the jaws of Death, / Back from the mouth of hell” (Lines 45-47). This meter gives a sense of ordered movement or forward motion. This regimented beat also suggests military marching or the gallop of horses, which adds to the atmosphere. The plentiful rhymes that run through the work are rather unpredictable in terms of scheme, varying with each stanza. This helps to create a sense of overwhelm or bombardment, which mirrors the unpredictably of warfare despite its seemingly planned maneuvers. The deliberate repetitions of lines and the use of both anaphora (repeating phrases at the beginning of successive lines) as well as epistrophe (repeated phrases at the end of lines) mimic the cyclical action and feeling of being surrounded. Thus, the speaker’s use of rhyme, repetition, and meter copy the sounds and actions on the battlefield, suggesting that the brigade’s demise is both arbitrary and inevitable.