Charge of The Light Brigade Flashcards
Charge of The Light Brigade: Context
- Tennyson was made Poet Laureate, a post which bound him into not making criticisms of British aristocracy and glorifying the British War effort.
- The poem is based on the Battle of Balaclava on 25th of October 1854 as a part of the Crimean war.
- The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge made headfirst into enemy guns as a result of a communication error.
- The Crimean war was originally a conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire however France and Britain got involved to prevent a Russian expansion.
- The war effort was unpopular with the public as the Light Brigade often consisted of people from the lower classes who were lightly armoured.
“Storm’d at with shot and shell”
Tennyson utilises the harsh plosives of the “t” and “d” here in order to show the repetitive pain of the soldiers in the belligerent war- this creating a harsh and painful sound on the ears to impress the pain of war upon the reader.
“shot, sabre, cannon, charge”
Tennyson creates a semantic field of military language, using words such as “shot, sabre, cannon, charge” in order to show the ubiquitous nature of the suffering that the soldiers experienced.
“half a league”
The poem begins in media res with “half a league” in order to thrust the reader into the visceral nature and suddenness of the charge.
“Horse and hero fell”
Tennyson uses euphemistic language in order to avoid criticising the higher powers and avoiding portraying the true nature of war. “Horse and hero fell” illustrates this as he avoids to expose the barbaric truth to the reader about those who were mercilessly slaughtered. The alliteration here also emphasises the continuous nature of this massacre.
“sabres” “cannons”
Tennyson contrasts the “sabres” of the light brigade against the “cannons” of the enemy. This illustrates the bravery and patriotism of the soldiers as it shows their willingness to put their life on the line in order to follow orders despite the insurmountable odds against them. The usage of the word “sabre” evokes an almost medieval image in the minds of the reader- this could perhaps be seen as a subtle indictment that the idea of war is an archaic idea.
“theirs not to make reply”
The usage of an anaphora in “theirs not to make reply” highlights the obedience and lack of individualism that the soldiers had- they were uniformed in their identity and suffering.
“rode the 600”
Tennyson uses the epistrophe of “rode the 600” in order to emphasise the soldier’s heroism at the end of every paragraph. Tennyson lists the dangers and perils that they face but always ends by emphasising the soldier’s valour.
“Mouth of Hell” “Jaws of Death”
Tennyson highlights how they rod into the “Mouth of Hell” and “Jaws of Death”. The personification of hell and death, paired with the biblical allusion of “Death expands its Jaws” shows us how despite their awareness that death was imminent, they died as a martyr to religion and their country. The personification makes “Death and Hell” seem to posses a human-like power. This exacerbates how the soldiers were powerless to these concepts, yet still selflessly sacrificed themselves. This would be condemned by a modern readership, as they understand the futility of not only this sacrifice, but the countless sacrifices of helpless individuals in wars and battles that their sacrifices contributed for nothing.
“Charge”(title)
- Due to his role as the Poet Laureate, Tennyson was bound by his role in the criticisms he could make of those in power. Therefore, we see Tennyson be more conservative and subtle in his criticisms.
- One example of this may be the double meaning of “Charge” in the title of the poem; not only is it referring to the literal charge made, it also could be referring to Tennyson charging the leaders of the military for the needless and painful death of the soldiers, with the rest of the poem functioning as an indictment of their error.
“someone had blunder’d”
The ambiguity in the usage of the word “someone” shows how there was a profound lack of accountability for the massacre, with those in power not being truly held accountable for their actions. This also shows how Tennyson was unable to criticise the aristocracy as freely as he would have liked.
“Valley of Death”
- Biblical reference to Psalm 23 which refers to the protection of God. Tennyson uses irony here as the soldiers were not protected by those who were meant to protect them. Also, the noun “Valley” illustrates how they were surrounded by cannons everywhere, highlighting the futility of this military mission.
COTLB - Ballad form
- The poem is composed in a ballad form, a form historically used in order to demarcate (establish) events that were to be commemorated and memorialised.
- This shows how highly Tennyson regards the sacrifice of the soldiers; he understood the futility of their sacrifice, despite not being able to be brazen about this, hence uses his ballad to immortalise their sacrifice for years to come.
COTLB - Irregular stanza length
- Tennyson varies his stanza length masterfully, never truly allowing the reader to settle in or feel any sense of consistency.
- The varied stanza length also allows for a sense of chaos to be communicated to the reader, mimicking how the soldiers were being shot at by an enemy they could not fairly counter.
COTLB - Rhyme scheme
- The poem uses an irregular rhyme scheme with rhyming couplets between indented lines.
- The couplets create a repetitive sense of inevitability, similar to how no matter how valiant the charge, the outcome of it was decided beforehand.
- The presence of an irregular rhyme scheme also adds chaos into the poem, leaving it unable to settle into rhythm, and thusly mimicking the chaos of battle.
