THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE

A. Complete the circle map below with words associated with ‘WAR’

WAR

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British light cavalry led by Lord
Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaciava on 25 October
1854 in the Crimean War.

B. Read the poem below and match them with the literal meaning given.

Half a league, half a league, The enemies fired the guns and cannon balls
Half a league onward, from all sides, left, right and front of them.
All in the valley of Death Although they were badly attacked, the 600
Rode the six hundred. soldiers rode on bravely, despite knowing they
"Forward, the Light Brigade! have little chance to stay alive.
Charge for the guns!" he said.
Into the valley of Death ,
Rode the six hundred.

600 soldiers of the Light Brigade rode for a

"Forward, the Light Brigade!" distance of half a league (about two and a half
Was there a man dismayed? kilometres) into the Valley of Death on the
Not though the soldier knew orders of their commander. He had ordered
Some one had blundered. them to charge forward and attack the enemy
Theirs not to make reply, soldiers who were in the valley
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred
The order “Forward , the Light Brigade ‘was
Cannon to right of them, given. Yet, no one protested or questioned the
Cannon to left of them, order although they knew it was a mistake to
Cannon in front of them attack the enemies. As soldiers, their duty was
Volleyed and thundered to follow order, whatever they are. They are
Stormed at with shot and shell, loyal and brave who know that is not their
Boldly they rode and well, place to question the order. So the 600
Into the jaws of Death, soldiers ride on into the Valley of Death.
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
C. Match the words on the left with their meanings on the right.

WORD MEANING
1. league (kumpulan) a. mistake
2. valley (lembah) b. feeling of distress
3. rode (menunggang) c. group
4. dismayed (kecewa) d. loud noise
5. soldier (tentera) e. a low area of land between hills or mountains
6. blundered (tersilap) f. sat on and control the movement an animal
7. cannon (meriam) g. army
8. volleyed (serangan) h. bravely
9. thundered (meletup) i. attacked and capture by means of force
10. stormed (serangan j. a large, heavy piece of artillery, typically
bertalu-talu) mounted on wheels, formerly used in warfare.
11. boldly (berani) k. successive shooting

D. Match the following phrases to their meanings

 E. The pictures below shows the scenario of what had happened as described in the poem.
Answer the questions given.

1. What is the name of the army unit?

2. What are the men in the picture riding?

3. How many soldiers are involved?

4. Where are the soldiers heading to?

5. What is the name of the weapon used by the enemy soldier to attack the Light Brigade?

6. According to the poem, where are the positions of the weapons?

7. The soldiers continued to ride boldly into the battlefield though they were attacked by the enemy
soldier. What does this tell you about the soldiers?
F. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words or phrases from the poem.

The poem was written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It is a war poem about 600 soldiers of the

(1)_________________ . They had been ordered to (2)______________ into a valley full of enemies

who were obviously expecting the attack. The latter were fully prepared with guns or

(3 )_________________ to the right, left and front. As the soldiers (4) ______________________ into

the valley they were attacked on all sides. Cannon balls flew in all directions as they

(5)___________________ at and shot the Light Brigade. Still the soldiers of the Light Brigade rode on

and attacked the soldiers they saw. On their retreat they were attacked just as violently on all sides.

Many if not all of these soldiers died a violent death in the (6)_________________________ or the

mouth of Hell. It was in the line of duty and no one (7)_________________________ when the order

was given for them to ride into the valley of death. The soldiers knew someone had

(8)________________________ and they knew what they would have to face. Yet they did not reason

why as they were prepared to (9)__________________________ -- Hence, the valley was named

(10) " ________________________ “.

G. THEME AND MORAL VALUES

A war can bring out the best and worst of mankind.

The complexities The poem not only highlights the violence and tragedy
of war of war but also celebrates the courage and loyalty of
the soldiers.

THEME Courage and The poem honours the bravery and heroism of the
heroism Light Brigade who are not afraid to fight in the battle
despite knowing that deaths awaits them.

The soldiers fight bravely to defend their country

Patriotism despite knowing the futility of the situation

The soldiers obediently follow the commander’s

order without question which shows that they have
Loyalty and duty
a strong sense of duty and are willing to risk their
own lives for their country
 MORAL VALUES

We must be loyal Courage and loyalty are admirable qualities which we

and courageous must try to attain, as in portrayed by the soldiers

When we know that some instructions or orders

We must not could lead to danger, we must voice our
MORAL follow blindly
VALIES disagreement

We must struggle War is not the answer for everything, we have to

for peace rather negotiate and try to solve disagreement through
than warfare diplomacy.

H. PRACTICE WORKSHEET

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.

1. Which word in the stanza above means ‘attack’?

2. Explain the phrase ‘Half a league onward’.

3. Who do you think gave the order to the soldier?

4. In your opinion why is the place named “Valley of Death”? HOTS

5. If you were one of the soldiers, would you march into the Valley of Death? Give one reason . HOTS
 "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

6. In the stanza above, which word means ‘uneasy’.

7. ‘someone had blundered’

If the soldiers had refused to follow the order, what would the commander do?

8. Do you think to follow order without questions is the right thing to do? Give one reason to support
your answer HOTS

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.

9. Which line tells us that the soldiers are fighting bravely?

10. Do you agree that war is cruel? Give two reasons to support your answer.

11. How can we celebrate the courage and bravery of our soldiers today? Suggest two ways.
ine STANZA 1
no.
1 Half a league, half a
league,
2 Half a league onward,
3 All in the valley of Death
4 Rode the six hundred.
5 “Forward, the Light
Brigade!
6 Charge for the guns!” he
said.
7 Into the valley of Death
8 Rode the six hundred.
INTERPRETATION
A league is an old way to
measure distance, and it was
equal to about 3 miles. So half a
league is roughly a mile and a
half– the brigade/battalion was
charging forward in the battlefield
The place where many soldiers
would die in the battle (very scary
& uncertain)
The exact number of soldiers was
600, riding horses
The captain commanded the
soldiers to move forward bravely
Note: they are called "Light" to
separate them from the "Heavy
Brigade," another kind of cavalry
unit at the time.Tennyson's poem
is based on real events. In 1854,
there was a Charge of the Light
Brigade during the Crimean War.
The soldiers were ordered to
attack
The soldiers moved to the
battlefield, prepared to fight and to
die fighting.The brigade was
ordered into the valley, even
though they knew that they were
going to die.
Emphasis on the small number of
soldiers – few but brave soldiers
riding on horseback

Line STANZA 2 INTERPRETATION

no.
1 “Forward, the Light Again, the captain commanded
the soldiers to move forward
Brigade!”
2 Was there a man Was there any soldier who would lose
his courage, be terrified or sad?
dismayed?
3 Not though the soldier Of course the Light Brigade was
knew too tough and loyal to feel
dismayed. These men did not feel
discouraged at all. They were
ready to do their job, even though
the order might be crazy (to meet
their death).
 4 Some one had blundered.
5 Theirs not to make reply,
6 Theirs not to reason why,
7 Theirs but to do and die.
8 Into the valley of Death
9 Rode the six hundred.
The soldiers knew that this charge
was not a good idea, that
someone had made a mistake.
The soldiers were loyal and
obedient – they did not talk back
to their commander
Or to figure out the point of the
attack
All they could do was to ride and
fight and possibly die
Repetition of stanza 1 – to
emphasize courage/bravery,
loyalty, commitment, duty

Line STANZA 3 INTERPRETATION

no.
1 Cannon to right of them,
2 Cannon to left of them,
3 Cannon in front of them
4 Volleyed and thundered;
5 Stormed at with shot and
shell,
6 Boldly they rode and well,
7 Into the jaws of Death,
8 Into the mouth of Hell
9 Rode the six hundred.
The soldiers were surrounded by
enemy cannon on their left, right
and front. Bad news for the Light
Brigade – they were actually
surrounded by enemies.
So the huge walls of cannon all
around them were firing and
making a sound like thunder
The soldiers in the Light Brigade
were being shot at with bullets
and big explosives fired from the
cannon - a violent, noisy,
destructive force that sounded like
a storm.
These soldiers were not scared of
the gunfire. They rode bravely,
confidently and with
determination. It shows us how
heroic these men were.
They were ready/willing to die of
honour
‘Hell’ – suffering and torture but
the soldiers were brave
600 brave/courageous soldiers –
men of honour

MODEL QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1. Where is the setting of the poem?
The battlefield
2. Which line in the poem tells us that the soldiers obeyed the order without question?
"theirs not to reason why"
3. Why do you think the line "Rode the six hundred" is repeated many times in the poems?
to emphasise that the 600 soldiers sacrificed their life on that day in the battlefield
4. Give one quality that you admire about the soldiers. Give a reason for your response.
Loyal as they follow orders.
5. What is the command given to the soldiers?
to charge forward and fight the enemies
6. Give an example of a metaphor used in the poem.
the valley of death
7. Which line in the poem tells the reader that the command was a mistakes?
someone had blundered
8. What do you think is the outcome of the battle? Support your response with evidence from the
poem.
Many soldiers die. The phrase into the jaw of death shows that many of them will die in the battle.
9. In stanza 1, who is speaking to the soldiers?
the leader/captain
10. In stanza 2, what does the line, "theirs but to do and die" tell us about?
the soldiers are loyal and courageous
11. What happened to the soldiers in stanza 3?
they were attacked by the enemies
12. What emotions does the poem evoke? What do you feel as you read it? Support your response
with evidence from the poem.
Sympathetic. full of sympathy as many soldiers die in the battlefield.
13. In stanza 2, which phrase in the poem means to go forward over a set distance?
"Forward the Light Brigade"
14. What were the soldiers told to do when they rode into the valley of death?
"Charge for the gun"
15. Why do you think the soldiers followed the order even is it would cause their death?
They are loyal
16. Despite being attacked from all sides, the soldiers continued on. What consequences would the
soldiers have to face if they decided to retreat? Provide reason for your answer.
Death.The soldiers should never go against the leader and always follow orders
17. Why do yo think the persona asked whether there was " a man dismayed"?
some of the soldiers are not courageous and have weak heart/ will/spirit
18. There are many jobs today that require people to be brave. Give another example of a job that
requires bravery. Provide reason for your answer.
Policeman. They need to fight for justice.
19. In stanza 2, which word in the poem means 'made a mistake'?
" blundered"
20. What is the theme of the poem?
courage
21. What is the Light Brigade?
a division in the army
22. Give one example of personification used in the poem?
"the jaw of death"
23. What does the Valley of Death symbolises?
battlefield/a place where battle/ war takes palace/ a place where army fight enemies/ a place
where armies fight enemies and many of them die
24. Which word in Stanza 2 means "mistake"?
blundered
25. How many soldiers were involved in the war?
600 soldiers
26. Suggest two ways to protect your country?
1. Be patriotic
2. Cherish these natural wonders/cherish the natural resources/ cherish the history and romance as
a sacred heritage for your children and your children's children.
3. Be loyal to one's country
27. How do you feel about war? Provide a reason to support your response.
 I dislike war. Many people die in the war.
28. How would you show your love to your country. Suggest two ways.
1. Vote
2. Fly our national flag
3. Proud of our national anthem

FIGHT FOR ENGLISH 1119/2 : POEM

THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE

1. About which war was "The Charge of the Light Brigade "written?

The Crimean War

2. According to the first stanza of "The Charge of the Light Brigade", how many British forces rode into the battle?
Six hundred

3. In stanza one, what does the phrase “the Valley of Death” refer to?
The valley where the British soldiers rode/ the battle occurred/battle field/ battle field where the army died

4. Why do you think the poet refers the valley as “The Valley of Death”?
It is because the soldiers knew that they were going to lose in the battle and they would die.

5. Why did the soldiers ride to their death?

They had to obey their commander’s order.

6. In stanza 1, what was the light brigade ordered to do?

They were ordered to move forward on a frontal assault against a well-armed Russian soldiers/ to attack the Russian
soldiers

7. What kind of weapons did the Light Brigade have?

Spears, swords and bows

8. What weapons did their opponents/enemies have?

Cannons, rifles

9. In stanza 2, what does the word ‘dismayed’ suggest?

It means to lose your courage/ to be overcome by terror or sadness

10. Did the British soldiers feel discouraged? Why?

No, they did not. It was because they were carrying out their duty and if they were to die, they would die with honour/
They had to obey the command of their leader.

11. In stanza 2, what does the line “Someone had blundered” suggests?
The commanding officer had made a stupid and clumsy mistake by ordering them to charge the well- prepared Russian
soldiers/ the leader had made a mistake in giving order

12. Write the meanings of the following lines:

i. Theirs not to reply :
The soldiers must not talk back to their commanders.
ii. Theirs not to reason why :
They must follow the orders without asking why.
iii. Theirs but to do and die:
All they could do was to ride and fight and possibly die in the battle.

13. Who won the battle?

The Russian soldiers
14. Give two adjectives to describe the six hundred men?
Courageous/ brave/ noble/ heroic/ loyal/ patriotic/obedient
15. In Stanza 1 the phrase valley of Death means
Death awaiting/to die/no escape from clutches of death
16. In Stanza 1 which word means “to advance”?
Forward
17. In stanza 2 who has made the mistakes that caused the tragedy?
The leader of the troop/ the commander/ office in-charge
18. There are many ways to show our love towards our nation. Suggest two ways.
i. Contribute towards nation building by being a good citizen
ii. Be united and uphold justice in our country.

19. If you were in the army and your commander told you to fight in a battle where you would most likely die, what would
you do? Why?
20. Do you believe that war is sometimes necessary? Why?
21. Is it noble to follow orders without asking questions? Why?
22. From Stanza 1, what was the command given?
Forward the light brigade
23. From Stanza 2, which line shows the evidence that the soldiers had followed orders?
Theirs not to make reply/theirs not to reason why/ theirs but to do and die
24. From Stanza 2, where do you think the battle take place?
In the Valley of Death
25. Why do you think the soldiers had blindly followed orders? Give your reason.

A part of training