Power and Conflict Poetry: "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

This section of the Power and Conflict poems revision guide examines Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade," a poem that explores themes of conflict, suffering, the reality of war, and patriotism.

Published just six weeks after a disastrous battle in the Crimean War, the poem describes a cavalry charge against Russian forces. Despite being lightly armed, the British cavalry faced cannon fire from three sides of a long valley. Of the 600 soldiers who began the charge, over half were killed, injured, or taken prisoner.

Context: As Poet Laureate, Tennyson had a responsibility to inspire the nation and portray the war in a positive light, effectively serving as propaganda.

The poem celebrates the soldiers' courage and devotion to their country, symbolizing the might of the British Empire. Tennyson uses powerful language to convey the intensity of the battle:

• Biblical imagery: "Into the valley of Death" portrays war as a supremely powerful or spiritual experience
• Personification: "jaws of Death" and "mouth of Hell" present war as a consuming animal
• Glorifying language: "Honour the Light Brigade/Noble six hundred" elevates the soldiers to a celebrated and prestigious group
• Sibilance: "shot and shell" creates the whooshing sounds of battle

Quote: "Into the valley of Death / Rode the six hundred"

The poem's structure is significant:

• It's a ballad, a form traditionally used to remember historical events
• Six verses represent the 600 men who took part in the charge
• The first stanza is tightly structured, mirroring the cavalry formation, while later stanzas become more chaotic, reflecting the battle's disorder
• Dactylic dimeter (e.g., "HALF-a league / DUM-de-de") mimics the sound of galloping horses and increases the poem's pace

Vocabulary: Dactylic dimeter - A metrical pattern in poetry consisting of two dactyls per line, where a dactyl is a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

Interestingly, while Tennyson glorifies the soldiers, he also subtly criticizes the leadership with the line "Someone had blunder'd," a controversial statement in Victorian times when blind devotion to authority was expected.