The Charge Of The Light Brigade

Question 1

The Charge of The Light Brigade Context (Alfred Lord Tennyson)

Answer 1

• Set in the Crimean war 28th of October 1854
• 607 men went out to battle 302 were unharmed rest were badly killed or injured
• Times editorial said “this was causeless and fruitless”… “A grand heroic deed…” But also called a “blunder”
• There is admiration with bravery when faced of certain and death BUT was a military disaster
• Power of the poet to immortalize these men two centuries later

Question 2

The Charge Of The Light Brigade MUST know

Answer 2

• The repetition within the poem helps capture the galloping military rhythm. This indicates the conflict and power building the retreat through the poem itself
• The poet is clearly distinguishing between the bravery of the men and the foolish ‘blunder’ of the orders and suggests the language six hundred should be seen as heroes
• The military language is mixed with religious allusion to suggest an epic scale, emphasising the risk and bravery

Question 3

Charge of The Light Brigade Structure

Answer 3

• Written in dimeter and dactylic. 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 syllables after are then unstressed. So when there are six syllables you would read it ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. The drop in stress is perhaps to show the sudden charge and then collapse, or the sound of horses galloping.
• The poem is divided into 6 stanzas and uses a lot of repetition. Some of this is to show the different stages of the battle but also give it a structure. It has a very military rhyme and can be similar to the sound of marching drums of horse hooves. This is used to reflect the military nature of the conflict in the poem.