English Lit - The Charge of the Light Brigade

• The charge of the light brigade

  A poem by Alfred Tennyson that focuses on part of the Battle of Balaclava that took place on October 24th, 1854
• What happened in the Battle of Balaclava

  1. The Russians had taken a beating by the British and were retreating

  2. The Russians were trying to remove some captured heavy guns

  3. The light brigade, made up of lightly armored troops on horseback, was ordered to ride in to protect the guns

  4. There was a mix-up in communication between the three leaders in charge that day

  5. Instead, the light brigade launched itself at the enemy artillery at the end of a valley rather than chasing off retreating Russian troops

  6. The 600 strong light brigade bravely kept going and were torn to pieces by gunfire

  7. Over 150 soldiers were killed and another 150 were injured in what was a tragic, futile mission
• Alfred Tennyson


  The poet who wrote the poem, who was serving as the Poet Laureate when he wrote it
• Poet Laureate


  An honorary position appointed by the monarch of the UK
• Ballad


  A historic form of poetry which often used to be sung, a poem which tells a story and contains a refrain
• Refrain


  A line or phrase which is repeated regularly throughout the poem
• Dactylic dimeter


  The poem is largely written in this poetic structure, which consists of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, with two feet per line
• The falling rhythm of the dactylic dimeter


  Could be argued to reflect the fallen soldiers
• One line that does not conform to dactylic dimeter is "someone had blundered"</b>
• Blunder


  A stupid or careless mistake
• The change in structure in the line "someone had blundered"


  Emphasizes the word "blundered" and Tennyson's criticism of the leadership error that led to the mission
• Biblical references in the poem

  The "valley of death" refers to Psalm 23, and the battle taking place in a valley is a literary allusion to the story of David and Goliath
• The biblical imagery highlights the awe-inspiring nature of the soldiers' bravery and the need to respect and remember it
• Into the valley of death’ / ‘Into the jaws of death’ / ‘mouth of hell’
• Stormed at with shot and shell’ / ‘Plunged in the battery smoke’
• Horse and hero fell’
• ‘Honour the charge they made!’ / ‘Honour the light brigade’/ ‘noble six hundred’
• We should honour and respect those who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country; soldiers who fight for King and country are noble and brave and worthy of the upmost respect
• The poem is deeply patriotic and encourages us to see it is as our duty to fight for and defend King and country, even when the cost is so great or the cause may not seem to us worthy
• There seems to be a subtle comment about the dangers of blindly

  following those in authority; do the men fear the commander as well as war. Is this dangerous?
• The repetition of the words ‘valley’, ‘death’ and ‘hell’ creates an image of danger and fear which makes the reader feel anxious about the fate of the soldiers.
• Poem


  Recounts the story of a disastrous battle against the Russians in the (unpopular) Crimean War
• Poem


  • Describes a brave and heroic cavalry charge against Russians who shoot at the lightly (clearly under) armed British with cannon from three sides of a long valley
  • The 600 hundred who started the charge were nearly all killed, injured, or taken prisoner
• Poem


  A celebration of the men's courage and devotion to their country and to willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice
• Tennyson as Poet Laureate


  Had a responsibility to inspire the nation and portray the nobleness of going to war – it is presented as our patriotic duty
• Poem


  Suggests that absolute devotion to power and following power blindly is dangerous
• A commander made a mistake ('Someone had blundered')
• Poem


  Could be interpreted that we should challenge those in authority (unlike Victorian ideals)