Edward Fu Making Light of the Brigade War annihilates.

This is a fact that has infallible proof repeated innumerable times throughout history. Yet, what do we gain from war? Land and wealth that lay rotting for the next conqueror to come? For Lord Alfred Tennyson, the lesson he extracted from war was far more valuable, a lesson that he embeds in The Charge of the Light Brigade after countless revisions of a single stanza. In a shallow light, the poem is a read as a renowned tribute, an example of glory and selfless sacrifice. But Tennyson inflicts a deeper wound. Underlying, undying and glaring, the Poet Laureate engraves the cost of foolishness onto the souls of his readers as they celebrate the bravery etched upon their hearts. The British have always loved their defeats as much as their victories (Coughlan). Yet, the defeat of the Light Brigade was hardly significant when compared to the rest of the war. In fact, numerically, the Charge of the Light Brigade only accounted for about a third of the Battle of Balaclavas casualties, or five hundred thousandths of the casualties of the Crimean War. Logically, there is no reason for singling out this skirmish from the countless others in history. But it does, to the point that Tennysons tribute to the soldiers valiance was memorized by generations of British school boys (Booth). In other words, the simple addition of the Poet Laureates name makes the battle shine brighter than the entire war (Wright). By creating such an applauded reception for his poem, Tennyson can make certain that his warning has reached his readers. And this reception was indeed as glorious as the content of the authors poem. However, there are several factors as to why, besides Tennysons brilliant prose, the reception was greeted so favorably. First, Tennyson published the poem while the demoralized British public was still mourning their loss. The Battle of Balaclava was to be an easy one, one that would crush the already nervous Russians. Instead, the Poet Laureate had to salvage the British with his poem as the Russians grew bolder and achieved further victories. By publishing The Charge of the Light Brigade so

quickly that not a year had passed since the battles conclusion, Tennyson skillfully transform ed a gory end into a glorious tribute with the pride still left in his peoples hearts and tears. Of course, no published work receives zero negative criticism. Although there were those skeptical that made the poem about the charge all the more effective propaganda (Philpotts), no one heard them amidst the deafening applause for Tennysons salvaging of the British spirit, an applauded reception that transcends his original audience and continues onwards today. However, it is not solely the labor of Tennyson that produced this overwhelming popularity for one poem. It is also due to the media, for Crimea was the first media war. There were reporters and photographers capturing events in a way that had never happened before (Coughlan). In fact, some assert that the poem by Lord Tennyson is often cited as sustaining the legendary status of the battle, but Mr. Massie [a reporter during the battle] says that the newspaper report came first (Coughlan). Although this is a valid point as the work of creating such skillful writing takes far more time than a column, Tennysons words can be found in all further mentioning of the Charge. In short, the newspaper report was indeed just a report while The Charge of the Light Brigade was inspiration. It is with this inspiration that more works detailing the battle, the Charge specifically, came to be. For example, photos of the Battle of Balaclava shows only black and white horse trodden roads and the troops before they set out. The media did not follow them to their demise. But the words of Tennyson did, and that is what the painters paint with sabers flashing and steeds rearing in a background covered by battery smoke. It is not the black and white photographs of soldiers that are only cherished by the deceaseds relatives; it is the illustration Tennyson provides us. By spreading this reception past borders and lifetimes, the Poet Laureates tribute to the glory and selfless sacrifice of the Light Brigade has spread his warning, unnoticed by many but still residing unconsciously in mind, as well. Yet, some would still contest that, while Tennyson began and birthed this legendary status to the skirmish, it not he that continues it. However, this can easily be refuted with how much

Tennysons The Charge of the Light Brigade has progressed. For example, after publishing the initial version of the poem, the Poet Laureate received a letter from a chaplain while the Crimean War was still being fought. The chaplain at the Scutari military hospital told him that the bal lad was a tremendous favorite with the men and that the best thing Tennyson could do would be to send copies out to the Crimea for them (Cavendish). In response to this, the poet produced several versions of the poem and ordered a thousand copies of it to be printed for them with the note, no writing of mine can add to the glory they have acquired in the Crimea; but if what I heard be true, they will not be displeased to receive these copies of the ballad from me, and to know that those who sit at home love and honour them (Cavendish). This created a frenzy of increased popularity for Tennyson. By the time the poet passed away, no other poem of his became as widely familiar and admired, allowing him to buy Farringford, his immense estate. Even two yea rs before his death, Tennyson was obligated to recite his poem for a gramophone recording that was then played in loop at his funeral, a funeral with veterans of Balaclava lining the aisle (Cavendish). After his death, audiotapes with better quality continued to be produced of The Charge of the Light Brigade, to the extent of being set to music and accompanying pictures of the battle at some point. Moreover, each of the movies produced of the The Charge of the Light Brigade has the shining script of T ennyson as well as the largest production budget of their time. Thus, this is a poem that has been passed on through the Ages, never tainted by skewed interpretations or commercial bias, meaning that it has had an enormous audience that have all received it gladly. Its sheer popularity is proof of how widely it has spread, which in turn is proof that Tennysons warning has also been heard, if subconsciously by most. Furthermore, the method that Tennyson writes The Charge of the Light Brigade both accentuate the poems themes and the poems words in its readers minds. It is partly due to this form that when a reader closes The Essential Alfred Tennyson Collection, the ballad remains in hand, heart and head. First, each of the six stanzas is in dimeter, stressing important words throughout the poem.

Each of these word pairings illustrates an essential part of the battle. For example, Valley of Death refers to the valley between Fedyukhin Heights and Causeaway Heights, the valley in which the Light Brigade surged through loyally and selflessly despite the continuous deathly torrent spewed by the Russians at all sides. In addition to the Valley of Death, man dismayd, blunderd, do and die, jaws of Death, mouth of Hell, shot and shell, horse and hero fell, and shatterd and sunderd all vividly describe the courageous conflict the cavaliers faced. Also, further accentuation of volleyd and thunderd, rode and well, flashd all their sabers bare, flashd as they turned in air, world wonderd, fought so well, glory fade, wild charge they made, honour the charge they made, and honour the Light Brigade beside the phrases that implied doom and destruction only heightens the utter glory and bravery of the charge, of their countrymens selfless efforts, of the valor they proudly displayed (lines 9-36). In addition to these double stressed syllables reaffirming the readers confidence and perception of Tennysons descriptions and warnings, the following twin unstressed syllabl es creates a dactylic style that makes forgetting this tribute of a poem increasingly more difficult. As a result, Tennyson has planned out a falling rhythm throughout the poem that is more than fitting for a battle that illustrates the falling of courageous comrades. This shows that while Tennysons primary purpose may be to incorporate a warning within an epic ballad, he does not do so half-heartedly, a manner that would blemish the gleaming reputation worthy of the Light Brigade. Indeed, he creates a masterpiece that lacks no quality in both lesson and tribute by writing in a method that reflects the tempo of the battle itself. But despite the overall masterful quality of the poem, there remains one crucial stanza that was heavily criticized and revised, a key phrase that Tennyson intentionally made controversial in order to draw notice to his warning, the folly of the fight. For it is there, in the troops falling, that one notices an outright, slightly more indented, line: Some one had blunderd (line 12). Ironically, it is due to the burden of achieving Poet Laureate status that forces him to revise the line several

times as he would later find his work hampered by the pressures of a public identity (Wright). He was even more heavily pressured by his peers such as Charles Kingsley who told Thomas Hughes that he could not bring himself to make fiddle rhyme with diddle about it or blundered with hundred, like Alfred Tennyson (Markovits). Eventually, the line was, at last, deleted in favor of an altered version of the poem that came with his next work, Maud, that also detailed the Crimean War. The then left out phrase had initially made Tennyson uneasy about it. He was even less easy about the deletion, however (Cavendish). As a result, in the last draft of the poem, the author restored the blunder line in the version he sent to the soldiers mentioned previously, feeling that, no writing of mine can add to the glory they have acquired in Crimea; but if what I heard be true, they will not be displeased to receive these copies of the ballad from me (Cavendish). With further analysis, if one stripped the shining armor thats the compliments to the troops bravery, a key phrase on that note was but if I what I heard be true (Cavendish). This blunder is also mentioned in numerous texts. In an edition of The Times, an article celebrating the publishing of The Charge of the Light Brigade in the London Examiner also spoke of a hideous blunder (Coughlan). In A War Culture in Action, Professor Philpotts of University of Arkansas describes the blunder as one of the greatest military blunders of the nineteenth century (Connelly). Even in an analysis of To the Lighthouse and how heroic death is depicted in other works of literature, this blunder is cited as a line Tennyson gave special affection to how most striking and audible regarding the rhetoric of heroic death it became (Booth). What was it that Tennyson heard? What information could have influenced the Poet Laureate so much that he decided to include a deleted line, a line that he was already uncertain about removing, in his final draft? Misdirection. What Tennyson heard was a rumor that told of spoiled aristocratic commanders giving orders based on groundless data, crucial orders that lacked crucial information on even the terrain their horses trampled upon. In particular, the Battle of Balaclava, the aristocratic army

commanders Lord Raglan, Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan received orders to stop the Russians in their effort to carry artillery to a high, advantageous, elevation. When the commander leading the charge, Lord Lucan, asked Lord Cardigan where the guns where, the general carelessly swept his arm across the field in reply. This was the overconfident gesture that led the death of over 270 soldiers and 500 horses out of a total 670, which also led to the capturing of most of the survivors as prisoners. How had this happened? With no information regarding the field of battle, Lord Cardigans flourish, which was no doubt aimed at the first ever media crew during a battle (Coughlan), directed the entire Light Brigade into a fully equipped Russian fortress. This is what The Charge of the Light Brigade told behind its description of glory and bravery. This warning against folly during the fight made the poem as legendary as the aristocratic nobles newly gained notoriety. This underlying warning can be seen throughout the poem, and the poem itself tells the whole story. For example, in the first stanza, half a league, half a league, half a league onward represents the miles the Light Brigade rode towards the Russian fortress. In their path, was a valley between the Fedyukhin Heights and the Causeaway Heights, the all in the Valley of Death, rode the six hundred. Also, this phrase is repeated for emphasis right before Forward the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns, he said (lines 5-8) which again details the foolish commanders orders to charge at the artillery. This was the fatal action, the action that the Container, the newspaper at the time that detailed this battle, as British Captain Nolan is a devoted officer disgusted with his commander, Lord Cardigan. Lord Raglan is a foolish officer with misguided war strategies and a fading memory. Together, they are sent to Turkey in response to a Russian invasion. Driven by arrogance and ineptitude, they send hundreds of cavalry to certain death (Connelly). In the stanza after this critical first part of the poem is where blunderd occurs (line 12). However, right after the blunder phrase, the soldiers are depicted as loyal followers, true soldiers deserving of their glory as they did not make neither reply nor reason why as they went to do and

die, the section where The Times leader at the time described as splendid self-sacrifice (Connelly). Others viewed it as madness (Booth). And despite opposition as to how senseless it was for the brigade to charge mindlessly, the public retains is popular opinion of that is why the brigade was glorious they were loyal, bright, following misguided orders, sure, but doing so for the country that they trusted knew better. In short, part of the poems radiance exists on this stanza of sorrow, for it illustrates the innocence of the Cavalry, innocence that sharply contrasts their corrupted aristocratic commanders. While the next lines, Cannon to the right of them, cannon to the left of them, cannon in front of them, volleyd and thunderd (line 22), are repeated for emphasis, Tennyson writes them to show the field of battle. When the brigade reached the fortress, the cannons were already set up and firing on all sides except from which they came. Still the soldiers charged, making stormd at with shot and shell, boldly they rode and well (lines 23-24) describing the brigade rushing to their objective. The similar lines regarding the valley then repeats itself to show their impending doom: into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell, rode the six hundred (lines 25-27). The rest of the intense skirmish is told most in the fourth stanza, a stanza in which Tennyson glorifies the battle with sabre flashes, horses rearing backwards, artillery smoke, and the breaking of Russian front lines. It gives the reader hope that the valiant sacrifice may yet survive until the last lines of the stanza appear: Then they rode back, but not, not the six hundred (line 36). Moreover, right after this stanza, the cannon opening of the previous stanza is repeated with a slight change, Cannon behind them to imply the cavaliers forced retreat. Further li nes emphasize this retreat with Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them, left of the six hundred (line 45). By doing so, Poet Laureate tells the defeat in a startling manner, both suddenly changing the pace of the poem and the expectations of the reader to fully sear the reminder of a commanders foolish actions into the mind of the reader.

In addition to the stanzas withdrawing lines, Tennyson continues to add more touches of bravery and glory to the poem with, While horse and hero fell, they that had fought so well (line 40), a phrase that indeed enhances the cavaliers brilliance but persists with the implication that the battle was lost as well. The stanza as a whole then, with their heaviness and depressing gloom, foreshadows the end of poem. It has an air of finality and fatality that leaves the reader accepting of the cavaliers fates but regretting the mistakes of command. Yet, it is not the final fatality, for Tennyson brightens the verse with When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wonderd. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade! (Lines 47-52). Not only do these verses make the poem the legendary tribute it is, Tennyson implies that the whole world, waiting for news, has accepted this loss with dignity. This is what makes the poem legendary, the way mere words can salvage the entire spirit of the most powerful nation at the time. This is how Tennyson reminds the British public and the world that there was glory in that brave selfless pursuit. But Tennyson does not end there. Instead, he ends the poem with a final subtle jab at the mistake once more with Noble six hundred! (line 52). At a glance, this merely seems like a final flourish, an ending that exalts the efforts the Light Brigade one final time. And it does. But there is another meaning to it. By having this line last with the capitalized Noble, the Poet Laureate reveals that he does not forgive those who sent the cavalry to their deaths, for it refers to the disputing aristocratic nobles that were commanding the force for no other qualification but their descent. Therefore, as a last line, it not only glorifies the troops one final time to make their charge permanent in the memory of his audience, it scars the hearts of his readers with the knowledge of who really was to blame the flourishing nobles that deserved a harsher death than a cannon shell in the midst of contrasting courageous spirits. Thus, while it is clear that Lord Tennyson wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade as a tribute to a skirmish, it is not for the sole purpose of promoting the troops glory; it is for the soul to remember the gory horrors of misdirection, the foolishness of the fight. Yet, it could also be asserted

that this is not the primary purpose either, that the Poet Laureate, even with his many published works on war, does not promote war in any form. Indeed, it could be said that Lord Alfred Tennyson writes The Charge of the Light Brigade not for the charge or glory at all, but with the intention of bringing its fundamental values, loyalty, selflessness, and patriotism to light.

Works Cited Akey, Kathy. "Alfred, Lord Tennyson: "The Charge of the Light Brigade": A Modern Reexamination." School Library Journal. (1994): 82. Print.

Booth, Allyson. "Mr. Ramsay, Robert Falcon Scott, and Heroic Death." Mosaic (2007): n. pag. Web Journal Document. Conelly, Mark. The Charge of the Light Brigade. New York: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2003. Print. Coughlan, Sean. "Why the Charge of the Light Brigade still matters." BBC News Online Magazine 2004: n. pag. Web. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3944699.stm>. Markovits, Stefanie. "Giving Voice to the Crimean War: Tennysons Charge and Mauds Battle song." Victorian Poetry. (2009): 461-81. Print. Philpotts, Trey. "A War Culture in Action: A Study of the Literature of the Crimean War Perio." Dickens Quarterly. (2010): 241-43. Print. Wright, Jane. "Tennyson's Name: Identity and Responsibility in the Poetry of Alfred Lord Tennyson ." University of Bristol. (2011): Print.