This is an analysis of the poem The Charge Of The Light Brigade that begins with:

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward, ... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: XabAaaBA XaXacccBA DDdAEebeA fffeAggXgXXa DDdAEeebedaXaaAaaa
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 8,9,9,12,18,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: alternate rhyme
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 101101 10110 1001001 10110 100101 110111 0001001 10110 1001100 110101 110101 11110 110101 110101 110111 0001001 10110 100100 100100 100100 100110 110111 101111 000101 000101 10110 111101 111101 100101 101101 10110 1001001 110111 10110 100101 101100 111111 10110 100100 100100 10010 100110 110111 111101 111111 110101 100101 111100 10110 111101 101111 10110 100111 100101 10110
  • Amount of stanzas: 6
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 246
  • Average number of words per stanza: 44
  • Amount of lines: 55
  • Average number of symbols per line: 26 (strings are less long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; half, league, their's, to, cannon, of, them, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words half, their's, cannon, into, flash'd, honour are repeated.

    There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines them is repeated).

    The poet repeated the same word hundred at the end of some neighboring stanzas. The poetic device is a kind of epiphora.

    The literary device anadiplosis is detected in two or more neighboring lines. The word/phrase not connects the lines.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Charge Of The Light Brigade;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson