Charge of the Light Brigade

• Crimean War was rare for the British because although the Russians negotiated for peace, the British lost 25000 men which was a huge number at the time

  Most of which died from cold and disease leading to feelings of it being a defeat
• Tennyson read about the charge on the 2nd of December 1854 in The Times newspaper and published the poem a week after showing that he wanted to make a public statement that built public support because the public weren't on side
• This was the first fully reported war with photographs and news wired in by telegraph and so for the first time in history it travelled fast
• Poem is written as propaganda to build public support of the war
• Although he may have doubted his own Christian faith, he deliberately uses biblical allusions to suit his audience's Christian tastes

  'The valley of death' is a quotation from Psalm 23 which readers would have known by heart. Next part of the line is 'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil: for thou art with me

  Tennyson saying that God was on there side through the war
• England was not meant to be a part of the Crimean War as it did not defend the British Empire

  Public was not passionate about this war due to the fact that they deemed it as unimportant
• Lord Raglan was the lead officer that led the charge

  History judges the officers to be from remote from battle and sending soldiers to senseless death
• 'someone has blundered'


  Tennyson deliberately does not blame any of the officers due to his new found position as poet laureate instead he picks up the tone of The Times newspaper which glorified war
• The Times newspaper is critical of the war within a section of french writing that is shown that roughly means in war you have to make decisions leading to victory and the Charge of the Light Brigade did not satisfy this

  As it is in French it allows the newspaper to distance itself from it
• As a young man Tennyson was initially celebrated as a poet but was then criticised due to one collection he produced 

  All of a sudden he releases something that makes him recognised again 

  Monarchy retreat on the Isle of White which Tennyson moves pretty much next to 

  Has to write in praise of the British soldier and their heroism and glory
• ‘Was there a man dismayed?’ 


  Shows that Tennyson wrote it to persuade the country that the costly war would still reveal British greatness

  Patriotic poem 

  Rhetorical question demonstrates how even though the soldiers were terrified, they knew they must obey orders.
• Tennyson suggests that it may not be luck that people survived due to God being on their side

  Audience was very religious and so they would have liked the poem more due to this imagery
• He wants the public to see the ‘blunder’ as a consequence of war, rather than incompetence

  Instead of blaming the officer who gave the order, it is only a nameless ‘someone’ who is to blame

  Does this due to the fact that he has to in order to keep his role as poet laureate
• Due to metonymy 'The Light Brigade' turns into 'The Six Hundred' throughout the poem

  Tennyson does this to suggest that hundreds were killed

  Also suggests that the charge against impossible odds was carried out by few men in comparison to the cannons and opposing soldiers
• 'boldly they rode'


  Victorian audience would have regarded it as the height of heroism however we now view it to be stupid, prepared to die for your country even though you know you are going to die for definite

  Emphasises the logical conclusion the men must have made being that death was nearly inevitable but that they would follow orders anyways 

  Adverb 'boldly' for single word analysis when talking about this point
• Easier to rhyme ‘brigade’ than it is with ‘hundred’

  ‘Brigade’ with ‘dismayed’ 

  ‘Hundred’ with ‘blundered’ → not exactly a rhyme 

  Shows he is paying attention to the words he uses → the word itself is a blunder by calling attention to the actual blunder that took place 

  Rhyme isn’t right and so shows Tennyson viewing the charge as not quite right
• ‘Their’s but to do and die’


  Celebrates the British soldier who will follow his order, even if it ends in certain death 

  The conjunction ‘and’ makes very clear that death is inevitable, but duty and patriotism to the soldiers are more important 

  He could have used the conjunction ‘or’ but he avoids this to show that when you do you will die, not factually true as over half of the soldiers were killed. Much more survived than Tennyson thought 
• 'Cannon to right of them' 'Cannon to left of them' 'All that was left of them' 'Left of Six Hundred'


  Shows the overwhelming force of the Russians through grammatical choice

  As there is no determiner ‘the’ this suggests that the cannons are all along the side of them instead of just to the side of them

  Stresses every syllable and sounds like horses in the charge

  Fifth stanza starts with 'right' and 'left' but ends with 'left' and 'left'. Left is an antonym of right which subtly emphasises that the war is wrong
• Some words do not rhyme → ‘knew’ and ‘death’


  Shows soldiers heroism they knew that death was to occur but still went on with the charge 

  Another way to view it is that Tennyson is pointing out that the public knows that it was a terrible blunder which further emphasises that Tennyson is criticising the leaders in the war that let the sacrifices be for nothing
• Pattern in the poem is disrupted as we would expect the last two lines to be a rhyming couplet however he does not give a neat ending to the poem as the meeting of ‘the six hundred’ with ‘Death’ is not a neat ending either 

  Despite the celebratory and patriotic tone of the poem, Tennyson implies that this is unacceptable as ‘Death’ does not rhyme with ‘hundred’ 
• Important as on the surface it is a patriotic poem that does not want to criticise the military or the purpose the war against Russia, which the British saw as a just cause

  ‘Russian’ stands out within the stanza refuses to rhyme

  Could be Tennyson suggesting that the British involvement in the Crimean War is out of place