Charge of the Light Brigade

Poet

LORD ALFRED TENNYSON

Context

• ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ was written in response to the atrocities the British troops faced, during the Crimean war.
• In October 1854, Lord Cardigan led a light troop of 670 soldiers. During the Battle of Balaclava, a horrific 110 soldiers were killed and 160 were wounded.

Plot

• The poem is about the miscommunication of Lord Cardigan.
• He told his light brigade to charge towards the guns of the Russians, when the actual message encouraged them to retreat.
• This mistake lead to a huge catastrophe for the light brigade and many soldiers lost their lives unnecessarily.

Form

• Dimeter and dactylic
• A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed to two beats
• Repetition
• Repeating phrases and stanzas, reflecting the different stages of the battle.
• Rhythm and rhyme
• Controlled. Connotations of the military; beating drums, marching soldiers and galloping hooves.
• Speech

Structure

• Sis stanzas
• Rhyming couplets

Language

• Personification
• Alliteration
• Exaggeration
• Opinion
• Imperative

Tone

• Pride
• Patriotic
• Respect

Themes

• Power of humans
• War
• Death
• Religion