Valley of Death

Death takes on several guises in Tennyson’s poem. The first symbolic image we get is of the “valley of Death” (3) into which the six hundred soldiers “rode” (4). This valley is a clear reference to the literal geographical valley between the Fedyukhin Heights and the Causeway Heights where the Light Brigade charged. However, the “valley of Death” also symbolizes the certainty of death for the soldiers who charged into it.

Importantly, the “valley of Death” alludes to a line from Psalm 23 of the Bible: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” This psalm, one of the best-known, encourages trust and faith in God as a “shepherd” leading his flock of humanity through danger and fear. The speaker in the psalm affirms...