Alfred Lord Tennyson
LI: to understand the story behind this narrative poem
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
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.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
At the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 during the Crimean War, the ‘Light Brigade’, (a group of British soldiers), charged down a narrow valley to fight the Russian soldiers who had captured British guns. The Russians were at the end of the valley as well as on each side of it. The attack was not a wise choice and happened because of a misunderstanding of an order sent by the commander-in-chief. After following orders less than a third of these men survived.
Answer these questions in full sentences:
- “If you were in the military and you were given an order, would you obey it – even if it meant putting your life on the line? Why or why not?” Yes I would because I would be in big trouble.
- What is a brigade? A large groups of soldiers.
- “Theirs not to make reply/Theirs not to reason why/Theirs but to do and die” - What did this mean for the soldiers? They are not allowed to talk back, they just have to do it and die.
- What makes this a narrative poem? It tells a story.
Read the poem again and answer these questions about the language used:
LI: To explore the language of a narrative poem
Stanza 1:
- What does the Valley of Death mean? Valley with a lot of dead people.
- Who is “he” in line 6? Commander
- What is the six hundred referring to? The 600 soldier and the 600 horses
Stanza 2:
- Now that you see it in context, what does the line, “Theirs but to do and die” mean? It is meant to be tragic because they were ordered to do it.
Stanza 3:
- What weapons are used against the Light Brigade? Guns and cannons
- What two things are personified here? Jaws of death and The mouth of hell.
Stanza 6:
- Did the Light Brigade win or lose? They lost.
- Are they seen as heroes? Yes because they were ordered to do it.
Use short answers to answer the following questions.
LI: To show that I am reading for meaning and understanding
- About how many soldiers were in the Light Brigade? 600
- What weapons did they carry? Sabre (sword)
- What weapons did they face? Cannons and gun.
- Why did the Light Brigade charge? They were told to and they were ordered to. But it was a mistake.
- How are the members of the Light Brigade survived at the end of the poem? They are being survived because they were being honoured.
Click on the link on the picture to help you find your information
List 3 facts about the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson
1. His second son was the one who wrote and published Charge of the Light Brigade.
2. He was sent to Louth Grammar School but he didn’t like it there.
3. When his dad returned home he died.
