The Charge of the Light Brigade

Alfred TennysonAlfred Tennyson (18O9-

1892) was born in Lincolnshire and later lived on the Isle of Wight and in

Surrey. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Tennyson was one of the great poets of the Victorian era and was Poet Laureate

from 185O to 1892.

The British cavalry commander mistook his orders to retake some

guns held by the Russians. Instead he told his men to charge the main

Russian position, which was at the head of a valley bristling with

artillery. The 600 horsemen obeyed but two thirds were killed or

wounded. The Charge is the best known example of heroism and

stupidity of war.

This poem tells the story of the failed charge of the British cavalry in the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854. Britain was

fighting with France, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire against Russian forces

in the Crimean War. Although it is unclear who was actually responsible, a

cavalry group, the Light Brigade (led disastrously by Lord Cardigan who

miraculously survived), was ordered to attack a very strongly defended Russian position. His account to Parliament is on

the next slide.

The Crimean War 1854-1856•Britain and France against Russia•Began after the Turkish Empire collapsed and Russia wanted to extend power south. Allies landed in Crimea and took control of Sebastopol.•War in Crimea, southern Russia.•British cavalry (men on horseback) called the Light Brigade

You can compare this poem with other poems about the same themes:

effects of conflict: 'Poppies', 'Futility'; reality of battles: 'Bayonet Charge';

patriotism: 'next to of course god america i'.

‘We advanced down a gradual descent of more than three-quarters of a mile, with the batteries vomiting forth upon us shells and shot, round and grape, with one battery on our right flank and another on the left, and all the intermediate ground covered with the Russian riflemen; so that when we came to within a distance of fifty yards from the mouths of the artillery which had been hurling destruction upon us, we were, in fact, surrounded and encircled by a blaze of fire, in addition to the fire of the riflemen upon our flanks.

As we ascended the hill the oblique fire of the artillery poured upon our rear, so that we had thus a strong fire upon our front, our flank, and our rear.

We entered the battery – we went through the battery – the two leading regiments cutting down a great number of the Russian gunners in their onset. In the two regiments which I had the honour to lead, every officer, with one exception, was either killed or wounded, or had his horse shot under him or injured. Those regiments proceeded, followed by the second line, consisting of two more regiments of cavalry, which continued to perform the duty of cutting down the Russian gunners. Then came the third line, formed of another regiment, which endeavoured to complete the duty assigned to our brigade. …’

(Lord Cardigan’s address to the House of Commons, 29 March 1855)

1.

Half 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.

The rhythm sounds like galloping horses' hooves — it gives the impression

that the horses are unstoppable. This strong,

regular, relentless rhythm that creates a

fast pace, imitating the cavalry.

Sounds sinister — the reader is warned right

from the start that something bad is going

to happen.

The commanding officer is speaking here.

There's a line in the Bible that says "Though

I walk through the valley of the shadow of

death, I will fear no evil." (Psalm 23). Using

biblical referencesmakes the poem seem solemn and significant.

Tennyson metaphorically describes the place of battle as the ‘valley of Death.’ This is a powerful image as it suggests

that death is all around the men and that they cannot

escape it. The Russian gunmen were at the head of the valley looking down from a strong vantage point at the cavalry; the British had little hope of victory. The valley is defined forever by the fallen men; it

now belongs to Death.

Suggests that not everyone is going ‘onward’.

This poem is based on a true incident from the Crimean War, where a commanding

officer gave an order that led to hundreds of soldiers ending up dead.

Repetition creates a sense of impending doom and the idea that what is going to happen is inevitable. Repetition of "the six hundred" in each stanza reinforces the idea of the large numbers of men involved. It also creates an image of a

chaotic battle.

2.

‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’

Was there a man dismay’d?

Not tho’ the soldier knew

Some one had blunder’d:

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.

Repeating the command from line 5 shows the commanding officer is determined there is no

going back.

The poem describes a disastrous battle between British cavalry

(soldiers on horseback) and Russian forces during the Crimean War

(1853-1856). A misunderstanding meant that the Light Brigade was ordered to advance into a valley

surrounded by enemy soldiers. The cavalry were only armed with swords, whereas the Russian soldiers had guns. The Light

Brigade were virtually defenceless against their enemies, and many of

them were killed.

Soldiers realise the order was a mistake but do what they're told because it's their duty to

obey orders. The poet admires the bravery and sacrifice of the

men because they were determined to obey orders even

though they knew death was likely. He thinks that the world should recognise their bravery and appreciate their sacrifice.

Rhyme and repetition emphasise the soldiers'

obedience and sense of duty, even though they know they

will almost certainly be killed. The poet seems

shocked and in disbelief by the stupidity of the order,

but this doesn't diminish his respect for the soldiers who

did their duty.

3.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley’d and thunder’d;

Storm’d at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

The monosyllabic words after ‘cannon’ sound like a fast-paced, relentless bombardment of shells

The repetition of the word ‘cannon’ with its short

syllable sounds explosive making it clear that they

are surrounded by powerful weapons andthat there is very little

chance of them surviving

The onomatopoeic verbs ‘volleyed’, ‘thundered’ and

‘stormed’ all have high energy and evoke the sounds of anger, of aggression, of war and could also

suggest the noise from the cannons.

Alliteration of the letter ‘s’ emphasises the idea of

ammunition flying towards them.

The poet admires the soldiers because they are brave and skilful

despite the horrors they face. Tennyson uses

respectful language to emphasise the soldiers'

bravery.

These images personify death and hell and make them seem like monsters that the soldiers can't escape from. There's a suggestion that the poet is horrified by

the violence of the battle through his personification of Death and Hell. The ‘jaws of Death’ evokes a powerful image of inescapability – the men have been gripped by something savage and Death will not release its hold over the men. The ‘mouth of Hell’ also conjures an image of sheer horror. It is as if the earth

has opened up to consume the men – they will die terribly. The men’s lives have been snatched from them suddenly and violently.

The first three stanzas end with the same line. It adds to the sense of foreboding and reminds us of the number of

soldiers.

4.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,

Flash’d as they turn’d in air

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wonder’d:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right thro’ the line they broke;

Cossack and Russian

Reel’d from the sabre-stroke

Shatter’d and sunder’d.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

The repetition of the onomatopoeic word ‘Flash’d’ (flashed) with its quick sounding vowel sound gives us a sense of the speed

of the attack and of death. The rhyme creates a powerful image of the cavalry

using their swords.

The third line reminds us that the

cavalry only had swords against the

Russian guns.

The fifth line could mean that people marvelled at their

bravery and also wondered why they had been sent on the

charge.

The drawn out vowel sound of the onomatopoeic word

‘plunged’ help us to imagine the utter despair of the men as if consumed by smoke but also helps us appreciate their

bravery and courage. A ‘Cossack’ is a warrior from

southern Russia and the Ukraine. Throughout these

stanzas there is assonance of the harsh short vowel sounds, ‘o’,’u’ and ‘a’ (as in ‘plunged’

and ‘wondered’, ‘Cossack’ and ‘volleyed’ and ‘cannon’ and

‘flashed’). The harsh landscape of war is evoked by these

aggressive sounds.

The alliteration in this line sounds vicious however the

onomatopoeic word ‘shattered’ helps us to imagine the men and valley as broken.

Although it sounds like they've been successful,

it's clear that some of them have been killed.

5.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon behind them

Volley’d and thunder’d;

Storm’d at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell,

They that had fought so well

Came thro’ the jaws of Death

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them

Left of six hundred.

The opening of this stanza is similar to the opening lines of

stanza three, but now the soldiers are retreating. The repetition

emphasises the consistent attack on the troops.

The sense of admiration is touched with

sadness.

The repetition reminds us that lives have been

lost, and makes the poem sound sad.

6.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wonder’d.

Honour the charge they made!

Honour the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred!

Sums up the way the poet wants the cavalry to be remembered, including

the ones who died.

This is a rhetorical question that challenges the reader

by making them think about the futility of their deaths.

This is a poem about remembrance and about

learning from our mistakes.

Sounds dramatic and daring.

Tennyson really admires the soldiers

who fought and wants his poetry to be a way of people

knowing their story.

Repeated from stanza 4 - it emphasises

people's amazement at their bravery.

This command is repeated to leave the reader with

the idea that they should honour the cavalry.