The Charge of the Light Brigade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzpW3u8XR6s

What can we see in this picture?

Context

The Crimean War 1854-1856• Britain and France against

Russia• Began after the Turkish Empire

collapsed and Russia wanted to extend power south. Allies landed in Crimea and took control of Sebastopol.

• War in Crimea, southern Russia.

• British cavalry (men on horseback) called the Light Brigade

Heroic and Stupid

Charge of the Light BrigadeThe British cavalry commander mistook his orders to retake some guns

held by the Russians. Instead he told his men to charge the main Russian position, which was at the head of a valley bristling with artillery. The 600 horsemen obeyed but two thirds were killed or wounded. The Charge is the best known example of heroism and stupidity of war.

Poem based on newspaper report

Journalist W.H.Russell reported on the Charge in The Times:

At the minutes past eleven our Light Cavalry Brigade advanced…They swept proudly past, glittering in the morning sun in all the pride and splendour of war…At the distance of 1200 yards the whole line of the enemy belched forth, from thirty iron mouths, a flood of smoke and flame. The flight was marked by instant gaps in our ranks, by dead men and horse, by steeds flying and wounded or rider less across the plain…They flew into the smoke of the batteries; but before they were lost from view the plain was strewn with their bodies. Through the clouds of smoke we could see their sabres flashing as they rode between the guns, cutting down the gunners as they stood… The flank fire of the batteries on the hill swept them down…at thirty five minutes past eleven not a British soldier, except the dead and the dying, was left in front of the Russian guns.

Rhythm

There is a regular fast-paced rhythm to the poem created by:

• Regular number of syllables in the lines (5-7);

• End rhymes • Repetition of line structures

and words• Repetition of variation of

last line.

What is the rhythm of the poem imitating and what is the effect of this?

Order and Obey

‘Forward the Light Brigade!’

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

Some one had blundered:

Their’s not to make reply,

Their’s not to reason why,

Their’s but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

The commander had made a disastrous mistake. Why didn’t the men question the order to charge at the Russian guns?

Sounds of war

Cannon to the right of them,Cannon to the left of them,Cannon in front of themVolleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and

shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of HellRode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare,Flashed as they turned in airSabring the gunners there,Charging the army, whileAll the world wondered:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight through the line they broke;Cossack and RussianReeled from the sabre-strokeShattered and sundered. Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred.

Sounds of war

Cannon to the right of them,Cannon to the left of them,Cannon in front of themVolleyed and thundered;Stormed at with shot and

shell,Boldly they rode and well,Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of HellRode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare,Flashed as they turned in airSabring the gunners there,Charging the army, whileAll the world wondered:Plunged in the battery-smokeRight through the line they broke;Cossack and RussianReeled from the sabre-strokeShattered and sundered. Then they rode back, but notNot the six hundred.

The repetition of the word ‘cannon’ with its short

syllable sounds explosive

The monosyllabic words after ‘cannon’ sound like a fast-paced, relentless

bombardment of shells

The onomatopoeic words ‘volleyed’, ‘thundered’ and

‘stormed’ all have high energy and evoke the sounds of anger, of

aggression, of war

The repetition of the onomatopoeic word ‘flashed’ with its quick sounding vowel sound

gives us a sense of the speed of the attack and of death

The drawn out vowel sound of the

onomatopoeic word ‘plunged’ help us to

imagine the utter despair of the men as if consumed

by smoke

The onomatopoeic word ‘shattered’ helps us to imagine the men and

valley as broken

Throughout these stanzas there is assonance of the harsh short vowel sounds, ‘o’,’u’ and ‘a’ (as in ‘plunged’ and ‘wondered’, ‘Cossack’ and ‘volleyed’ and ‘cannon’

and ‘flashed’). The harsh landscape of war is evoked by these aggressive sounds.

Imagery

‘Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred.’

‘Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.’

How does Tennyson use metaphor and personification to capture the horror of the Charge?

Imagery

‘Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred.’

‘Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.’

How does Tennyson use metaphor and personification to capture the horror of the Charge?

Tennyson metaphorically describes the place of battle as the ‘valley of Death.’ This is a powerful image as it suggests

that death is all around the men and that they cannot escape it. The Russian gunmen were at the head of the valley

looking down from a strong vantage point at the cavalry; the British had little

hope of victory. The valley is defined forever by the fallen men; it now

belongs to Death.

Tennyson personifies Death and Hell. The ‘jaws of Death’ evokes a powerful image of inescapability – the men have been

gripped by something savage and Death will not release its hold over the men. The ‘mouth of Hell’ also conjures an image of sheer horror. It is as if the earth has opened up to consume

the men – they will die terribly. The men’s lives have been snatched from them suddenly and violently.

Pride, splendour, glamour

W.H. RussellThey swept proudly past,

glittering in the morning sun in all the pride and splendour of war…with a halo of steel above their heads, and with a cheer which was many a noble fellow’s death cry, they flew into the smoke of the batteries…breaking through a column of Russians and scattering them like chaff

TennysonRight through the line they broke; Cossack and RussianReeled from the sabre-strokeShattered and sundered.Then they rode back but notNot the six hundred.

Stormed at with shot and shellWhile horse and hero fellThey that had fought so wellCame through the jaws of Death,Back from the mouth of Hell,All that was left of them,Left of the six hundred.

Tennyson’s voice – stanza six

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honour the charge they made!

Honour the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred!

What does Tennyson think of the soldiers? What do you think that he felt about the Charge?