The Charge of the Light Brigade

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The Charge of the Light Brigade
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What can we see in this picture?
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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

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Heroic and Stupid

• Charge of the Light Brigade
• The 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.

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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 advancedThey swept proudly past,
glittering in the morning sun in all the pride
and splendour of warAt 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
plainThey 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 downat thirty five minutes
past eleven not a British soldier, except the
dead and the dying, was left in front of the
Russian guns.
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Rhythm
What is the rhythm of the poem imitating and what
is the effect of this?

• 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.

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Order and Obey

• Forward the Light Brigade!
• Was there a man dismayed?
• Not though the soldier knew
• Some one had blundered
• Theirs not to make reply,
• Theirs not to reason why,
• Theirs but to do and die
• Into the valley of Death
• Rode the six hundred.

• The commander had made a disastrous mistake. Why
  didnt the men question the order to charge at
  the Russian guns?

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Sounds of war

• Cannon to the right of them,
• Cannon to the left of them,
• Cannon in front of them
• Volleyed and thundered
• Stormed at with shot and shell,
• Boldly they rode and well,
• Into the jaws of Death,
• Into the mouth of Hell
• Rode the six hundred.

• Flashed all their sabres bare,
• Flashed as they turned in air
• Sabring the gunners there,
• Charging the army, while
• All the world wondered
• Plunged in the battery-smoke
• Right through the line they broke
• Cossack and Russian
• Reeled from the sabre-stroke
• Shattered and sundered.
• Then they rode back, but not
• Not the six hundred.

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Sounds of war
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 drawn out vowel sound of the onomatopoeic
word plunged help us to imagine the utter
despair of the men as if consumed by smoke

• Cannon to the right of them,
• Cannon to the left of them,
• Cannon in front of them
• Volleyed and thundered
• Stormed at with shot and shell,
• Boldly they rode and well,
• Into the jaws of Death,
• Into the mouth of Hell
• Rode the six hundred.

• Flashed all their sabres bare,
• Flashed as they turned in air
• Sabring the gunners there,
• Charging the army, while
• All the world wondered
• Plunged in the battery-smoke
• Right through the line they broke
• Cossack and Russian
• Reeled from the sabre-stroke
• Shattered and sundered.
• Then they rode back, but not
• Not the six hundred.

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
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.
The onomatopoeic words volleyed, thundered
and stormed all have high energy and evoke the
sounds of anger, of aggression, of war
The onomatopoeic word shattered helps us to
imagine the men and valley as broken
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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?

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Imagery
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.

• 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 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
mens lives have been snatched from them suddenly
and violently.
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Pride, splendour, glamour

• W.H. Russell
• They swept proudly past, glittering in the
  morning sun in all the pride and splendour of
  warwith a halo of steel above their heads, and
  with a cheer which was many a noble fellows
  death cry, they flew into the smoke of the
  batteriesbreaking through a column of Russians
  and scattering them like chaff

• Tennyson
• Right through the line they broke
• Cossack and Russian
• Reeled from the sabre-stroke
• Shattered and sundered.
• Then they rode back but not
• Not the six hundred.
• Stormed at with shot and shell
• While horse and hero fell
• They that had fought so well
• Came through the jaws of Death,
• Back from the mouth of Hell,
• All that was left of them,
• Left of the six hundred.

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Tennysons 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?