The Charge Of The Light Brigade-Alfred Lord Tennyson Flashcards
Explain some context points of ‘The charge of the light brigade’
.The crimean war saw British troops fighting in Russia. At this time, while there were basic guns and cannons, people would still also fight on horses, to rush in and attack before they could reload or stop them. However the light brigade were very lightly equipped, more for scouting or attacking from the back or sides rather than charging straight in.
During 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. It showed to the British that even mistakes can happen. The men were respected for following orders, even though they knew they may be wrong. Some however have criticised the way they blindly followed orders. Lord Tennyson was the poet who was asked to write about their glorious sacrifice.
Explain the themes in ‘Charge Of the Light Brigade’
.The poem is about war, life and death,sacrifice and folly. It naturally links to conflict and is effective at showing peoples views on war of the time. The poem also contains a lot of references to biblical/religious ideas as well as bravery and fear
Explain structure in ‘Charge of The light Brigade’
Written in dimeter and dactylic. There are two stresses in each line which means there are two beats or syllables which are read with 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 battle but also gives it structure. It has a very militant 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.
The poem is narrated in third person making it seem like a story. The regular relentless rhythm creates a fast pace intimidating the cavalry’s advance and energy of the battle. Rhyming couplets and triplets drive the poem forwards, but the momentum is broken by unrhymed lines, which could mirror the horses stumbling and soldiers falling. The overall lack of rhyme scheme hints at the chaos of the war
The poem tells the story of the battle in chronological order, from the charge of the men in the first three stanzas, to the battle in the fourth and the retreat in the fifth. The final stanza is shorter and summarises the heroism of the brigade
Explain other elements of ‘Charge Of the Light Brigade’
Repetition- repetition creates a sense of impending doom and inevitability. The repetition of six hundred at the end of each stanza reinforces the idea of the large numbers of men involved, with the references to them summarising the story of the battle
Heroic language- adverbs like boldly and verbs like charging emphasises the mens bravery. Respectful language shows how the narrator feels tne soldiers should be remembered
Violent language- the narrator chooses powerful verbs and adjectives to give a strong sense of violence in the battle, and uses sounds to create a vivid, noisy, hellish setting
What are the feelings and attitudes of ‘Charge Of The Light Brigade’
Admiration- The narrator admires the bravery and sacrifice of the men because they obeyed orders even though the knew death was likely. He thinks that the world should recognise their bravery and appreciate their sacrifice
Patriotism – the men follow the orders because of their duty to their country, and the speaker portrays them as heroes for doing this
Horror- there is a suggestion that narrators horrified by the violence of the battle
Summarise the key points in ‘charge of the light Brigade’
The repetition within the poem help statue the galloping military rhythm. This indicates the conflict and power building through the poem itself
The poet is clearly distinguishing between the bravery the men on the foolish blunder of the orders and suggest the 600 should be seen as heroes
The military language is mixed with religious allusion to suggest an spic scale, emphasising their risk and bravery
“Half a league,half a league,half a league onwards”
The rhythm of this phrase sounds like the galloping of horses, giving the impression that these animals are unstoppable as they charge. A league is about 3 miles which shows how far they have on their journey. The repetition builds tension and drags out the charge
“All in the valley of Death”
Valley of death is a biblical allusion to show the horror of what they face it’s a connotation of hell. This phrase being used in the poem is used to show the scale of importance and give the poem an epic quality
“Cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon behind then”
At this point the cavalry are completely trapped by cannon fire. The triple repetition of the position of the cannons is used to emphasise the danger that they face and could also potentially be criticising the orders to charge by presenting the mission outlook as entirely suicidal. Canon link to war and conflict which demonstrates how the odds are against them
“When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made”
The use of the rhetorical question shows have the poet is actually more concerned about the glory of the soldiers and the fact that there is actually been a tremendous loss of life. We know they were brave and battle throughout and refused to give in despite everything being against them.
“Honour the charge they made! Honour the light Brigade”
The imperative ordering people to give their respect when many questioned the charge. The poet is showing how the soldiers themselves should be honoured,even if the decision to charge may have been wrong
The poem suggesting that heroes may have been made from this conflict. He is clear to show the bravery and strength by escaping the clutches of death and jaws of hell
