Charge of the light brigade

• League is about 3 miles, showing the distance they have on their journey and the quality of the challenge ahead
• Themes of the poem

  • War
  • Life and death
  • Sacrifice
• Valley of Death


  Biblical allusion to show the horror they face, connotation of hell
• Repetition in the poem

  Builds tension and drags out the charge
• Repetition of 'theirs' and 'six hundred'


  Objectifies them as a symbol rather than just men, tone becomes more solemn to show impending doom
• Cannon in the poem

  Links to war and conflict, demonstrates the odds against the soldiers
• 'Boldly' in the poem


  Contrasts with the scale of odds against them, emphasises futility
• Personification of death in the poem

  Exaggerates the futility and bravery of soldiers facing death boldly
• Cossack and Russian in the poem

  Shows the enemy not equal to the British, despite greater numbers, consonance to emphasize devastation
• Insertion of 'not' in the poem

  Implies most of the six hundred have died
• Repetition in the poem

  Mirrors the charge, now soldiers are running away
• Imperative in the poem


  Orders respect for the soldiers, emphasizing their bravery and sacrifice
• The poem contains a lot of references to biblical allusions
• The poem is about war, life and death, sacrifice and folly. It naturally links to conflict and is effective at showing peoples views on war of the time. The poem also contains a lot of reference to biblical/religious ideas as well as bravery and fear
• The poem is written in dimeter and dactylic, with two stresses in each line
• The poem is divided into 6 stanzas and uses a lot of repetition to show different stages of the battle and give it structure
• The repetition within the poem helps capture the galloping military rhythm, indicating the conflict and power building through the poem itself
• The poet distinguishes between the bravery of the men and the foolish 'blunder' of the orders, suggesting the six hundred should be seen as heroes
• The military language in the poem is mixed with religious allusion to suggest an epic scale, emphasising the risk and bravery
• The poem repeats a lot to remind us of the charge and then the retreat
• The poet thinks the men are brave, calling them 'heroes'
• The poem is full of violence shown through the use of language like 'sabres' and 'cannons'
• The Crimean War saw British troops fighting in Russia, with the Light Brigade being lightly equipped for scouting or attacking from the back or sides rather than charging straight in
• During a battle, a miscommunication sent the Light Brigade charging head first into the cannons of the other side, resulting in a huge catastrophe and many deaths
• The men were respected for following orders, even though they knew they may be wrong, but some have criticised the way they blindly followed orders
• Lord Tennyson was the poet who was asked to write about their glorious sacrifice
• The Christian prayer, 'The Lord's Prayer', contains the line "though I may walk through the valley of death". This phrase being used in the poem is to show the scale of importance and give the poem an epic quality
• Charge of the Light Brigade: Celebrates and warns of blind glory, regretting lives lost needlessly
• The poem about the Light Brigade shows conflicting themes of glory and honour with hellish images of darkness and war
• The poem serves as both a celebration and a warning of blind glory, regretting the lives lost needlessly
• Religious imagery in the poem

  'Valley of death' contrasts with the soldiers and builds conflict