AEC 201: The Charge of the Light Brigade. 25, 26,

The Charge of the Light Brigade" is an 1854 narrative poem by the Victorian poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the cavalry charge of the same name at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. He wrote the original version on 2 December 1854, and it was published on 9 December 1854 in The Examiner. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom at the time. The poem was subsequently revised and expanded for inclusion in Maud and Other Poems (1855).

The 600 troops of the brigade followed ambiguous orders to charge a heavily defended position though they knew they had little chance of survival.

In this battle, a British cavalry unit—the “Light Brigade”—was commanded to charge against a Russian artillery unit. The order was almost suicidal, and the brigade was decimated in the charge. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” celebrates the self-sacrifice and heroism of the cavalrymen, suggesting that bravery consists of doing one's duty even when it leads to almost certain death.

The six hundred cavalrymen rode for a mile and a half into the valley of Death. “Light Brigade, advance! Charge for the artillery” their commander said. So the six hundred cavalrymen charged into the valley of Death.

“Light brigade advance!” the commander said. Was any soldier discouraged or afraid? No—even though they all knew the charge was a mistake. It wasn’t up to them to dispute their orders or to ask why they were given. Their job was simply to act and to die. So the six hundred members of the cavalry charged into the valley of Death.

The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is a poem by Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The piece was written in response to actual events which took place as part of the Crimean War. The result of a miscommunication, the Charge led to many deaths. However, even though photographs of survivors remain, the events also inspired many artistic responses presenting the men’s death as valiant. Even in 1936 and 1968 the Charge was being presented heroically in films.

Tennyson’s depiction of events was written shortly after he read about the Charge in the Times newspaper. He similarly views the men’s actions as heroic and uses alliteration, a strong rhyme and rhythm, as well as personification and onomatopoeia to help put his views across. He also uses the Biblical imagery of the Valley of Death to add weight to the actions of the poem.

Form

This poem is comprised of six numbered stanzas varying in length from six to twelve lines. Each line is in dimeter, which means it has two stressed syllables; moreover, each stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables, making the rhythm dactylic. The use of “falling” rhythm, in which the stress is on the first beat of each metrical unit, and then “falls off” for the rest of the length of the meter, is appropriate in a poem about the devastating fall of the British brigade.

The rhyme scheme varies with each stanza. Often, Tennyson uses the same rhyme (and occasionally even the same final word) for several consecutive lines: “Flashed all their sabres bare / Flashed as they turned in air / Sab’ring the gunners there.” The poem also makes use of anaphora, in which the same word is repeated at the beginning of several consecutive lines: “Cannon to right of them / Cannon to left of them / Cannon in front of them.” Here the method creates a sense of unrelenting assault; at each line our eyes meet the word “cannon,” just as the soldiers meet their flying shells at each turn.