2.4.5 The Charge of The Light Brigade

Question 1

Poet

Answer 1

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Question 2

Theme Code

Answer 2

NPC-JDV

Question 3

Themes

Answer 3

Futility of War, Patriotism, Effects of Conflict, Negative Emotion of Pride, Reality of Conflict, Vulnerability

Question 4

Quotes

Answer 4

• ‘Blunder’d’
• ‘Theirs not to make reply… Theirs not to reason why… Theirs but to do and die’
• ‘Cannon to right of them… Cannon to left of them… Cannon in front of them’
• ‘Storm’d at with shot and shell’
• ‘Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell’
• ‘Flash’d all their sabres bare, Flash’d as they turn’d in air’
• ‘Into the Valley of Death’

Question 5

Main Structural Points

Answer 5

• Ballad
• Refrain
• Dactylic Diameter

Question 6

Explain the quote ‘Into the Valley of Death’

Answer 6

Biblical Imagery
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Question 7

Explain the quote ‘Blunder’d’

Answer 7

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Important line as it is the only one that does not fill the dactylic diameter. He is emphasising the blunder as he is criticising the leadership error which led to the practically suicidal mission to take place. Subtly drawing the reader’s attention to his disgust at the blunder that caused the fatalities, he had to do it subtly as dictated by his role as poet Laurette. ‘Blundered’ means stupid and careless mistakes. The dactyls create a sense of the horses galloping forward, the shortening and dramatic stop mirror the dramatic stop and shortening of the soldiers’ lives.

Question 8

Quotes for the Main Structural Point

Answer 8

• ‘six hundred’

Question 9

Simplified Main Structural Point

Answer 9

Ballad for singing and future generations. Remember the fighters and the leadership blunder. Dactylic diameter mirror the sound of galloping hoof beats of horses.

Question 10

Main Structural Point

Answer 10

Tennyson chose to write the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ in the form of a Ballad. Ballads are historic forms of poetry that are usually a song and contain a refrain, in this case, the refrain is ‘six hundred’. Tennyson wrote the poem in this form as Ballad because ballads are used for future generations of people to remember, he wanted to ensure that people remembered the ‘noble six hundred’ and their chivalrous act. He might have also written it to criticise the Government., he had to do it subtly as since 1850 he had been the Poet Laurette and could not openly criticise the British Government, so not only this was a criticism of the Government, this was a message for future generations so they would never forget this tragic and fatal leadership blunder and not to make this mistake of miscommunication again. The ballad is written in Dactylic Diameter, this use of having two dactyls per line that follows the pattern of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables twice per line, creates a sense of feeling they we the reader are on the battlefield so we can further emphasise with the soldiers and greatly appreciate their bravery, The sound the dactylic meters makes mirror the sound of galloping hoof beats of horses. In 1890, Tennyson recited the poem on a recording, and the poem originally is sung slowly at the start and builds up, picking up the pace, energy and tension which greater strengths the empathy the reader feels for the soldiers. But we also call it a falling rhythm, this could resemble the falling of the soldiers.