It celebrates the bravery of soldiers and seeks to honour and glamorise the sacrifices these men made.The British Army was led by a group of aristocrats who were not known for their intelligence. This could refer to the army as a group or to men as individuals.Īspects of Power or Conflict: This poem highlights the reality of conflicts and the deaths that are often a result. Could also be sharp intakes of breath of men in pain and shock. What effect is created? The alliterative ‘s’ sounds (sibilance) mimics the sound of the sabres (swords) swooshing through the air. Quote 3: ‘Reel’d from the sabre-stroke Shatter’d and sunder’d’ The rhythm created by the repetition and beats of the syllables mimics the rhythm of the horses’ feet as they ride towards the Russians. What effect is created? The repetition of the cannons gives the feeling of being surrounded on all sides. Quote 2: ‘Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them’ It is as if they are being swallowed by Hell and Death itself. What effect is created? The reader pictures the death and destruction that awaits the soldiers as they ride towards the Russian army. Quote 1: ‘Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell’ The poem is full of violence shown through the use of language like ‘sabres’ and ‘cannons.’ The poet thinks the men are brave calling them ‘heros’ The poem repeats a lot to remind us the charge and then the retreat. The military language is mixed with religious allusion to suggest an epic scale, emphasising the risk and bravery. The poet is clearly distinguishing between the bravery of the men and the foolish ‘blunder’ of the orders and suggests the six hundred should be seen as heroes. This indicates the conflict and power building through the poem itself. The repetition within the poem helps capture the galloping military rhythm. This phrase being used in the poem is used to show the scale of importance and give the poem and epic quality.īY THE END OF THIS YOU SHOULD KNOW: HIGHER MARKS The Christian prayer, ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ contains the line “though I may walk through the valley of death”. This is used to reflect the military nature of the conflict in the poem. It has a very military rhyme and can be similar to the sound of marching drums of horse hooves. Some of this is to show the different stages of the battle but also give it a structure. The poem is divided into 6 stanzas and uses a lot of repetition. The drop in stress is perhaps to show the sudden charge and then collapse, or the sound of horses galloping. So when there are six syllables you would read it ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. Basically that means there are two (di-) stresses in each line, that means two beats or syllables which you read with a bit more force. The poem also contains a lot of reference to biblical/religious ideas as well as bravery and fear. It naturally links to conflict and is effective at showing people’s views on war of the time. The poem is about war, life and death, sacrifice and folly. Lord Tennyson was the poet who was asked to write about their glorious sacrifice. Some however have criticised the way they blindly followed orders. The men were respected for following orders, even though they knew they may be wrong. It showed to the British that even mistakes can happen. However the light brigade were very lightly equipped, more for scouting or attacking from the back or sides rather than charging straight in.ĭuring a battle, a miscommunication sent the light brigade charging head first into the cannons of the other side, it was a huge catastrophe and many died. At this time, while there were basic guns and cannons, people would still also fight or horses, to rush in and attack before they could reload or stop them. The Crimean war saw British troops fighting in Russia. Between 100 and 200 soldiers are thought to have died. He sent an order but it was fatally misinterpreted and 673 Light Brigade cavalrymen were sent charging down the valley with Russian guns all around. On 25 October 1854, Lord Raglan decided to attack the Russians. It is based on the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War which was fought from 1853 to 1856. Tennyson wrote “The Charge of the Light Brigade” in a few minutes on December 2, 1854. The poet uses repetition, imagery and a strong rhythm to highlight the army’s gallant charge into battle. The tone of the poem is one of pride the poet does not mourn the loss of these soldiers nor does he show anger towards the men who gave these wrong orders. This poem follows the journey of a light brigade of some 600 British soldiers as they charge head-first into the cannons and gunfire of a much-larger Russian army. Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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