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The Charge of The Light Brigade Note
The Charge of The Light Brigade Note
I
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.
II
Forward, the Light Brigade!
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone 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.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to 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.
OVERVIEW
The Charge of the Light Brigade was written by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Those who
can still remember the poem Monsoon History would still remember the line
Reading Tennyson at six p.m. . Anyway, this poem was inspired by a true event
that happened during the Battle of Balaclava that occured on 25 October 1854 in the
Cremean War between the British and the Russian. As the name suggests, the Light
Brigade was supposed to pursue a retreating Russion artelliry battery, a task well-
suited to a light calvary. However, due to miscommunication in the chain of
command, the Light Brigade was sent on a frontal assault against the more well-
prepared artelliry battery specialised in defensive fire.
VOCABULARY
WORD MEANING
Stanza 1
The light calvary was marching to the Valley of Death because the foes were no
match for them. It was like committing suicide. They were 600 of them riding horses
figthing in a battle. Their leader ordered them to move forward and consficate the
guns to prevent the guns from being carried away by the enemies.
Stanza 2
The soldiers were still moving foward. No one was discouraged by the fact that
somebody had made a foolish mistake by giving them a wrong order. They were not
in the position to answer any questions nor to ask why. They kept on moving
because it was their responsibility and they recieved order from their superior. Even
if the were fated to die, all the six hundred of them were still moving forward.
Stanza 3
The soldiers bravely fought the battle. They were attacked from their right, their left
but they still moved forward. True enough, they were also attacked from the front.
But they marched fearlessly to the Valley of Death and fought until their last
breaths.
MORAL VALUES