By: Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
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 to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.
IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All 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 chose this poem because of the title and the author. I love the title of this poem, it just draws you towards it. It makes you want to read about such a thing. I have always loved history and hearing about battles so hearing “charge” and “brigade” in one sentence automatically appeals to me as a pretty epic story waiting to be told. I also have read other works by Alfred Lord Tennyson and loved them, my favourite being “In Memoriam” which I discuss in the backstory on my other post. I find him a rather beautiful writer and he portrays the story he wishes by painting such a vivid picture in the mind. Tennyson definitely is among one of my favourite poets so getting the chance to delve into one I have not read yet was something I jumped straight onto.
The poem recounts the rather risky charge that a British brigade made during the Crimean War. Tennyson was not a soldier himself, but he was able to turn this event into a glorious poem. He uses repetition in something “the six hundered” (lines 8, 17, 26, 49, 55). The repetition gives the affect of a closure to the passage, a neat wrap up, a gentle conclusion to the stanza. Tennyson uses a strange repeat of rhyming too. Some of the lines rhyme while other do not. For example, in the third stanza, lines 18-20 all rhyme but then lines 22, 23, and 25 rhyme. It adds a sense of pattern and flow, similar to how a military march would, but then the breaks show how it does not always go so smoothly. Fights do always work out how either side wish for them to so the breaks in pattern are able to portray that just through words.
Tennyson uses a lot of imagery in his poem. In stanza four he has “Flashes all their sabres bare, Flashes as they turned in the air; Sabbering the gunners there, charging an army.” (Lines 27-30). Tennyson aims to use these descriptive words to try and emphasize the picture of the battle itself. Rather than just retelling a story he is painting a picture in the minds of the readers. His imagery is very well done and is able to convey what the wishes to rather perfectly.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson. “The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord…” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45319/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade.
This analysis on the poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, was very well done! I enjoyed the way you chose to format your analysis. It was very easy to read, comprehend, and understand, by the way you broke down the plot, theme, and deeper meanings of the poem. I especially appreciated the way you were personally drawn to the poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, because the passion you have for reading his works is evident in the way you described the poem. I equally have always been interested in history, so I enjoyed that you read this poem from the perspective of a history-lover, and were able to express your feelings about it from that lens. I agree with your statement about Tennyson’s use of imagery. I equally agree that the imagery used in this poem is very well done, and truly grasps the readers. I agreed with your analysis and there was nothing I disagreed with, however I do have a few questions.
You mention the literary techniques, but what literary theme do you think this poem would fall under?
Additionally, you mentioned that this poet was not a soldier himself. My question is, what perspective does this poet have that allowed him to make the claims that he did? Finally, what was your favorite part about reading this poem?
All in all, this analysis was very well done and I enjoyed reading it!
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Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate the feedback. This poem by Tennyson falls under the emotive theme. It both praises and degrades war while evoking true emotions within someone to really think about what they believe in war. Tennyson is also given the subtle right to write about this topic as he was alive during the war. He lived through it- maybe not as a solider himself, but as a spectator. He was friends with the Queen of the time and was close to know the issues and concerns of what was going on, as well as get information on what really occurred.
My favourite part about reading this poem was definitely getting to see the way Tennyson portrayed the war. As stated above, Tennyson was not involved in the war himself but was able to give such an insight that begs to question how invested he was in the war and how involved he really was. It is known he was close to Queen Victoria and it begs to question how much they discussed, especially involving the war. I love the deeper thoughts it provokes and make you think about in terms of history and just the poem as a whole and how they correlate.
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