Charge of the Light Brigade Vs Flag

In the poem Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Tennyson, their seems to be a strong rhythm which is shown in the first line of stanza 1 where it says “half a league half a league”. The word “league” is a way of measuring distance which it was about 3 miles so half a league is about 1.5 miles. This will give the reader a rough idea of the formation of the soldiers charging.

In the second stanza, the light brigade has met with the enemy which is shown in the second to last line of the stanza which says “into the valley of Death”. The words “valley of Death” exaggerates the fact that loads of the soldiers dying are inevitable. This will give the reader an idea of the bravery of the soldiers charging into their deaths.

In the poem Flag, by John Agard, it seems to have been written around Agard and his son having a conversation as the child always asks a question at the start of each stanza, and Agard answers to the questions saying “It’s just a piece of cloth” By calling a flag “a piece of cloth” gives us the interpretation that Agard is getting annoyed at his child always asking questions about a flag. This would make the reader question the amount of power and symbolism a flag has.

In the poem, the subject starts to get more personal as it starts with a general discussion of a “nation” in line 3 but progresses to actual “men” in line 6 then to examples of men like “the coward” in line 9 and finally turns to the person asking the questions; “you” in line 12. The reader will start to feel like they’re getting brought into the poem and start to think about they think about flags.

The language in the poem Charge of the Light Brigade is shown through the use of sound effects. This is shown through the use of alliteration in line 22 where it says “shot and shell”. The whole quote shows that the battle was violent, noisy and a destructive force. This will remind the reader of a thunder storm and make the reader think about what the soldiers went through in their final moments alive.

However, in the poem Flag, imagery is used as well as sound effects.