The Charge of the Light Brigade

• What is Charge of the Light Brigade about?

  • Charge of the Light Brigade tells the story of a group of soldiers who are ordered to make a mad charge towards certain death
  • They charge heroically & with fearlessness but few remain as they retreat
  • Charge of the Light Brigade highlights the bravery of the soldiers whilst simultaneously questioning the authorities that ordered the soldiers to charge to their deaths
• What is the contextual significance of Tennyson?

  • Tennyson was made Poet Laureate, a post which bound him into not making criticisms of British aristocracy & glorifying the British War effort
  • The war effort was unpopular with the public as the Light Brigade often consisted of people from the lower classes who were lightly armoured
• What is the contextual significance of the Crimean War?

  • The Charge of Light Brigade was based on the Battle of Balaclava on 25th of October 1854 whereby a charge was made headfirst into enemy guns as a result of a communication error, as a part of the Crimean War
  • The Crimean War was as originally a conflict between Russia & the Ottoman Empire however France and Britain got involved to prevent a Russian expansion
• What quote reflects the experience of war through the pain of the soldiers?


  "storm'd at with shot and shell"
• How does "storm'd at with shot and shell" reflect experience of war through the pain of the soldiers?

  • Tennyson utilises the harsh plosives of the 't' and 'd' here in order to show the repetitive **pain of the soldiers** in the belligerent war- this creating a **harsh and painful sound** on the ears to impress the pain of war upon the reader
• What quote reflects misuse of power?

  "someone had blunder'd"
• How does "someone had blunder'd" reflect misuse of power?

  • Due to his role as the Poet Laureate, Tennyson was bound by his role in the criticisms he could make to those in power
  • Therefore, we see Tennyson be more **conservative & subtle in his criticisms**
  • The vagueness in the usage of the word "someone" shows how there was a **profound lack of responsibility** for the massacre, with those in power not being truly held accountable for their actions
  • This also shows how Tennyson was unable to criticise the aristocracy as freely as he would have liked
• What quote reflects experience of war through the heroism of soldiers?

  "rode the 600"
• How does "rode the 600" reflect experience of war through the heroism of soldiers?

  • Tennyson also uses the **epistrophe** of **"rode the 600"** to order to emphasise the soldier's heroism at the end of every paragraph
  • Tennyson lists the **dangers & uncertainties** that they face but always ends by emphasising the soldier's courage
  • This would be condemned by a modern readership, as they understand the **pointlessness** of not only this sacrifice, but the multitude of sacrifices by helpless individuals in wars & battles that their sacrifices played a part to nothing
• What are the two pieces of form in the poem?

  • Irregular stanza length
  • Irregular Rhyme scheme
• Why does Tennyson use irregular stanza length?

  • Tennyson varies his stanza length admirably, never truly allowing the reader to settle in or feel any sense of consistency
  • The varied stanza length also allows for a sense of chaos to be communicated to the reader, mimicking how the soldiers were being shot at by an enemy they could not fairly encounter
• Why does Tennyson uses an irregular rhyme scheme?

  • The poem uses an irregular rhyme scheme with rhyming couplets between indented lines
  • The couplets create a repetitive sense of inevitability, similar to how no matter how fearless the charge, the outcome of it was decided beforehand
  • The presence of an irregular rhyme scheme also adds chaos into the poem, leaving it unable to settle into rhythm, and thusly mimicking the chaos of battle
• What is the structural significance of dactylic dimeter?

  • Tennyson uses Dactylic Dimeter (long syllable followed by two short syllables) in order to mimic the sound of a horse’s hooves whilst running into battle
  • The repetition of this thrusts the reader into the heat of battle, making them feel the charge
  • It also communicates how the soldiers have no choice but to follow the charge and run into battle; the long syllable may represent their suspense & reluctancy, yet the two short syllables highlighting how they had to fight anyways
• What is the structural significance of end stops?

  • Each stanza ends with punctuation, exacerbating the idea of finality
  • The stanzas are not ended with enjambment as this does not accurately reflect how the soldier’s fate was finalised and their death was inevitable