"The Charge of the Light Brigade" Alfred Lord Tennyson

IHalf a league, half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of Death   Rode the six hundred.“Forward, the Light Brigade!Charge for the guns!” he said.Into the valley of Death   Rode the six hundred.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
   Someone had blundered.
   Theirs not to make reply,
   Theirs not to reason why,
   Theirs but to do and die.
   Into the valley of Death
   Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
   Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
   Rode the six hundred.
IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
   All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
   Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
   Not the six hundred.
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
   Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
   Left of six hundred.
VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
   All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
   Noble six hundred!

The march of the six hundred is simulated in the meter of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Written mainly in dactylic dimeter, stress is placed on the first syllable of each foot, with two feet in each line, as a general rule. The stressed syllables to begin each line create an idea for the reader that cannons or guns are being shot. Even thought this is clear, the poem continues steadily, just as the six hundred march into what is clear danger and certain death for "Theirs not to make reply,/ Theirs not to reason why,/ Theirs but to do and die." The constant nature of the poem makes for a constant, obedient, and even valiant representation of the six hundred. Along with the stressed first syllables, the anaphoric repetition at the beginning of some stanzas simulate cannon fire. “Cannon to right of them,/ Cannon to left of them,/ Cannon behind them,” it seems as though they’re being attacked from all around. The repetition continues even though it is clear that “someone had blundered.” The fact that the same structure continues helps the reader sense the ultimate obedience displayed by the soldiers, the selflessness that leads to their deaths.