The Charge of the Light Brigade- Alfred Tennyson

Question 1

describe what’s happening in the poem

Answer 1

• a disastrous battle between British cavalry and Russian forces during the Crimean War
• misunderstanding meat that the Light Brigade ordered to advance into valley surrounded by enemy soldiers
• cavalry only armed with swords, Russian soldiers had guns

Question 2

describe the form

Answer 2

• narrated in third-person, seems like a story
• regular, relentless rhythm creates fast pace, imitating cavalry’s advance and energy of battle
• rhyming couplets and triplets drive poem forwards,but momentum broken by unrhymed lines, could mirror horse stumbling/ soldier falling

Question 3

describe the structure

Answer 3

• tells story of battle in chronological order, from charge of men in first stanzas, to battle in 4th and retreat in 5th
• final stanza shorter and summarises heroism of brigade

Question 4

“Half a league, half a league, half a league onward,”

Answer 4

rhythm sounds like galloping horses’ hooves- gives impression that horses are unstoppable

Question 5

“Death”

Answer 5

sounds sinister reader warned right from start that something bad is going to happen. capital letter emphasises this

Question 6

“Rode the six hundred”

Answer 6

the’re presented as 1 group with 1 purpose , repeated at end of first 3 stanzas, adds to sense of foreboding an reminds us of number of soldiers

Question 7

“was there a man dismay’d? Not tho’ the soldier knew Some one had blunder’d”

Answer 7

soldiers realise order was a mistake but do what they’re told because it’s their duty to obey orders. Poet respects them for this

Question 8

“Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die”

Answer 8

rhyme and repetition emphasises the soldiers’ obedience and sense of duty, even though they know they will almost certainly be killed

Question 9

“valley of Death”

Answer 9

line in Bible says “yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil”. using biblical references makes poem seem solemn and significant

Question 10

“cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them”

Answer 10

use of anaphora and epistrophe reflects way soldiers surrounded by enemy’s guns. Also replicates sound of gunfire

Question 11

“shot and shell”

Answer 11

sibilance emphasises idea of ammunition flying towards them

Question 12

“jaws of Death” “mouth of hell”

Answer 12

images personify death and hell and make them seem like monsters that soldiers can’t escape from

Question 13

“Charging” “Plunged” “Reel’d”

Answer 13

several lines begin with verbs, emphasising action and increasing pace of poem

Question 14

“All the world wonder’d”

Answer 14

double meaning- could mean people marvelled at their bravery or that they wondered why they had been set on charge.

Question 15

“sabre stroke shatter’d and sunder’d”

Answer 15

sibilance here sounds vicious

Question 16

“but not Not the six hundred”

Answer 16

repetition of “not” emphasises fact that some of brigade have been killed. Also creates broken, stuttering effect, making sound almost as if speaker is upset

Question 17

“volley’d and thunder’d”

Answer 17

powerful, onomatopoeic verbs suggest noise from cannons

Question 18

“horse and hero fell, They had fought so well”

Answer 18

sense of admiration touched with sadness

Question 19

“all that was left of them, Left of six hundred”

Answer 19

repetition of “left of” reminds us that lives have been lost, and makes reader sympathise

Question 20

“when can their glory fade?”

Answer 20

rhetorical question challenges reader

Question 21

“Honour” “Honour”

Answer 21

command is repeated to leave reader with idea that they should honour the cavalry

Question 22

context

Answer 22

• Tennyson was Poet Laureate at time poem written
• poem written in 1854 in response to newspaper article about battle. Many newspapers at time were critical of Crimean War, but poem focuses on bravery of soldiers rather than mistakes of military leader