The Charge of the Light BrigadeAlfred Tennyson

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a disastrous charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War.

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s was Poet Laureate at the time.

His lines have made the charge a symbol of warfare at both its most

courageous and its most tragic.

Lord Cardigan led the charge from the front and, never

looking back, did not see what was happening to the troops

behind him.

He reached the Russian guns, took part in the fight and then

returned alone up the valley without bothering to rally or even

find out what had happened to the survivors.

600 horsemen followed orders to attack the Russians.

Two thirds of them were killed or injured.

The Russians were so surprised by the rashness, they

thought the British were drunk!

Cardigan left the field and went on board his yacht in

Balaclava harbour, where he ate a champagne dinner!

News of the Charge reached England three weeks later.

War correspondent William Russell, who witnessed the

battle, declared "our Light Brigade was annihilated by their

own rashness, and by the brutality of a ferocious enemy

Link to You Tube 6min

videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj5bilCQEDU

Tennyson's poem, published on 9 December 1854 in The

Examiner, praises the Brigade, "When can their glory fade? O

the wild charge they made!", while trenchantly mourning the

appalling futility of the charge: "Not tho' the soldier knew,

someone had blunder'd… Charging an army, while all the

world wonder'd.”

Tennyson wrote the poem inside only a few minutes after

reading an account of the battle in The Times, according to

his grandson Sir Charles Tennyson.

It immediately became hugely popular, even reaching the

troops in the Crimea, where it was distributed in pamphlet

form.

Forty years later Kipling wrote The Last of the Light Brigade,

commemorating the visit of the last twenty survivors to

Tennyson (then in his eightieth year) gently to reproach him

for not writing a sequel about the way in which England was

treating its old soldiers

I

Half a league, half a league, Half a league

valley of Death Rode the six hundred. "Forward

Brigade! "Charge for the guns!" he said: Into

Death Rode the six hundred.

II

Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man

dismay'd? Not tho' the soldier knew Someone 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.

III

Cannon to right of them, Cannon

them, Cannon in front of them

and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and

shell, Boldly they rode and

jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

IV

Flash'd all their sabres bare,

they turn'd in air, Sabring

there, Charging an army, while

world wonder'd: Plunged in the battery

smoke Right thro' the line they

broke; Cossack and Russian

the sabre stroke Shatter'd

sunder'd. Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

V

Cannon to right of them, Cannon

them, Cannon behind them

thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and

shell, While horse and hero

had fought so well Came

Death Back from the mouth of

that was left of them, Left of six hundred.

VI

When can their glory fade? O the wild

charge they made! All the world

wondered. Honour the charge they

made, Honour the Light Brigade, Noble

six hundred.

I

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.

Thundering

rhythm

throughout the

poem, echoes

horses’ hooves.

3 miles is a league, so half a

league would not be very far

on a galloping horse.

“Valley of Death” refers to an episode

of John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress

and to Psalm 23 from the New

Testament of the Bible: in both of

these sources, faith makes people

brave when they are faced with

death.Doesn’t say who ‘he’ is, or why.

Highlights the blind obedience

soldiers follow in war. In reality it

was a command that was

misunderstood.

Charging into

guns, obviously

very dangerous,

they knew they

were heading

into danger

Valley of Death, repeated.

The audience of the time

would all have known the

outcome of the battle, that

only around 100 escaped

unscathed.

II

Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man

dismay'd? Not tho' the soldier knew Someone had

blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason

why, Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death

the six hundred.’

Repetition of

shouted order, the

men are not afraid

though,

accentuates their

bravery.

However, all the soldiers

knew that a mistake had

been made, but they still

followed orders. Incredible

for a civilian to understand

this loyalty.

Regimented style reflects

the soldiers devotion to

duty & militarism. They

realise they are heading

towards death but

continue to follow orders.

We are privy to their

thoughts.

Perspective shifts once

more & we see the wider

picture, more repetition of

Valley of Death.

III

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.

Repeated 3 times,

speech writers always

repeat 3 times, far more

effective. Gives an idea

of the layout of the

battlefield, soldiers are

surrounded.

Barrage is like a

force of nature, so

massive, nothing

men can do

anything about.

Extended metaphor of Valley of

Death. They death is not

glorious, but hell, vicious war

claiming its victims.

Nobility of

soldiers, they

continue to ride

‘well’ even as its

towards their

deaths.

IV

Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'dair, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wonder'd: Plunged in the batterysmoke 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.

Initially they are

successful & the

Russians retreat under

the Cavalry’s attack

with swords rather than

guns.

What is the world

wondering? How they

can be so brave in the

face of such a mighty

force? That perhaps

they may win the

battle?

Repetition of ‘not’. Their

bravery is resolute, they will

not retreat. Bold & brave &

determined.

V

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, Whilehorse 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.

Now the cannons are

behind them, the slight

victory hasn’t improved

their situation, the stormof

war is not relenting

Anthropologists have

observed that going

into hell & then

returning is a

common motif in the

mythology of many

of the world’s

cultures, including

one of the best-

known myths of

Western civilization,

the labours of

Hercules. The

survivors of this

battle are thus raised

to heroic status by

the words that this

poem uses to

describe the valley’s

entrance.

VI

When can their glory fade? O the

wild charge they made! All the

world wondered. Honour the

charge they made, Honour the

Light Brigade, Noble six hundred.

We are addressed

directly & asked to

answer a question.

But its beyond our

comprehension.

Repetition again,

we wonder how

they can have

obeyed

obviously flawed

orders.

We are told how to

feel about them,

remember context,

Poet laureate,

patriotic, writing for

mass audience, many

of whom would have

been uneducated.

Celebrate their

honour. A tribute to

their bravery

Little outright criticism of

leaders, upholding

establishment & call to

glory of soldiers & of doing

ones’ duty’ without

question.