The Charge of the Light Brigade Alfred Tennyson

AO1 Respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to  illustrate and support interpretations

Firstly, watch and read this interpretation

 

And then this one which demonstrates the metre and rhythm better

An explanation of what it means

AO2 explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings

A very useful video on language, structure and form

Important language techniques to note:

• anaphora (the repetition of the same words at the beginning of lines) 'Half a league, half a league, half a league onwards'; 'Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die' and 'Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon behind them'
• onomatopoeia, alliterations and sibilance giving the sense of the noise of battle: 'volley'd and thunder'd, storm'd at with shot and shell' and 'shatter'd and sunder'd' 
• religious imagery: 'mouth of Hell' and 'valley of Death' from Psalm 23 which was often read at funerals
• metaphor: 'jaws of death' and 'mouth of Hell'
• rhyme and rhythm: sound like the thundering hooves of the charge and seems unstoppable like the charge
• End-stopped stanzas gives a sense of finality
• Repetition 'six hundred' - gives a sense of all the men and the scale of the sacrifice

Alternative interpretations:

Note all the times that we get a sense of being trapped and enclosed - there is no way out.

Note the heroism

Note the quiet and hidden criticism of the leadership 'wild charge', 'someone had blundered'

Note the impact that these men's sacrifice will have on history (posterity)

Note the fierceness of the battle 

Difficult vocabulary

half a league - a mile and a half (an old-fashioned measure of distance)

blunder'd - made a huge mistake (blundered)

sabres - a curved sword

cavalry - soldiers who fight on horseback

Cossacks - Russian cavalry (the enemy of the British)

Volley'd - a verb (volleyed) which suggests sending a lot of missiles across the battlefield

AO3 make comparisons and explain links between texts, evaluating writers’ different ways of expressing meaning and achieving effects

Which poems could we compare it to: sacrifice, bravery and war?


AO4 relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been  influential and significant to self and other readers in different contexts and at different times

The poem was written by Tennyson as Poet Laureate.  The Poet Laureate is an official role in Britain where the greatest poet of the day is asked to write for the nation.  Therefore, at a time of war, the Poet Laureate might be expected to be patriotic and to write from a British perspective, as he does here in a poem which was written only six weeks after the battle itself.  The war was the Crimean War (1853-1856, which we remember best as the war where Florence Nightingale changed medicine) which was fought in the Black Sea region of Russia.  Primarily, it was a religious war between Turkey and Russia and Britain got involved because we were concerned that the Russian invasion would cut off our route from Europe to India. The actual charge of the Light Brigade was a military disaster which has been the source of much controversy ever since as a lightly armed cavalry (horse-riding) division were sent into battle against cannon with predictable results.  Tennyson recognises this failure 'some one had blunder'd' but instead focuses on the gallantry and bravery of the Light Brigade and their glorious sacrifice 'When can their glory fade?' and 'Honour the Light Brigade, Noble Six Hundred!'. Indeed, this poem has succeeded in future generations being aware of this battle but probably unaware of the fact it was a failure.