The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Classic Literature. Fiction. The Charge of the Light Brigade is a famous poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, whose lines "Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die" have made the charge a symbol of warfare at its most reckless. The actual cavalry charge, led by Lord Cardigan, was most possibly based on a misunderstood order which occurred during the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854 during the Crimean War. The brigade was not completely destroyed, but after regrouping, only 195 show more men were still with horses. The charge of the Light Brigade became a subject of considerable controversy and public dispute throughout England. It continues to be studied by modern military historians and students as an example of what can go wrong when accurate military intelligence is lacking and orders are unclear. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I had differing opinions when I read this poem for specific reasons. For instance, I liked the book because of the historical factor and talking about the cavalry charge against the Russian batteries at Balaclara on October 25th, 1854. However with this historical aspect, this book should be used at or above the 5th grade level. Students in K-4th grade have not learned the historical events such as this one and will be extremely confused by the poem. In addition to the historical aspect, this poem should be used for students 5th grade and above for the academic language included within it. For example, the text reads “Forward, the Light Brigade! Was there a man dismay’d? Not tho’ the soldier knew Someone had blunder’d?” Just show more within this little piece of the poem, there is vocabulary such as “dismay’d” and “blunder’d” that are considered to be old English. Students not in 5th grade and above will be able to comprehend the definitions of these words as well as the significance of why they are spelled differently than the words “dismayed” and “blundered”. Also, this poem is based on a violent and tragic event. Students need to learn about events such as this and I feel that this poem does a good job with introducing this event and not going into the gory details about the cavalry charge. This poem allows the students to interpret the event in their own minds (with guidance from the teacher). show less
I was excited to check out this book when I found it at the library, as I had remembered hearing the poem when I was younger. I believe that this book lays out the poem nicely, in a concise, understandable way. The illustrations mirror the subject of the poem (war), without being too gory for the young readers. I would say that this is a book that children should read with an adult because of the fact that the text is in cursive and may be difficult for young readers to recognize. Also, the text reverts to older versions of English that children are likely to not recognize. Overall, I found this to be a nice presentation of the poem and I would utilize this version with my own students.
"“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."
The most famous passage in this short poem, but the entire poem is wonderful!
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."
The most famous passage in this short poem, but the entire poem is wonderful!
It was okay , not bad not very good !
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Author Information
709+ Works 14,335 Members
Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6, 1809 in Somersby, England. He attended Trinity College in Cambridge. Tennyson is chiefly known for his poetry, an art form that had interested him since the age of six. His best known work is the Idylls of the King. Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate of England in 1850 and became the Baron of Aldworth and show more Farrington in 1883. Tennyson was still writing his his 80s, and died on October 6, 1892 near Haslemere, England. (Bowker Author Biography) If there were a contest for the title "greatest Victorian poet," Tennyson would in death, as in life, obtain the prize. He had the finest ear of any English poet, admitting to know the metrical value of every word in the English language except "scissors." In addition, his ability to evoke a closely rendered scene was unsurpassed. Therefore, although those who sought to attack Tennyson called him "the stupidest of the English poets," he remains the only one ennobled for his poetry. Tennyson was born at Somersby rectory in Lincolnshire, the son of the rector there, and was educated at Louth Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge. His earliest published verse, Poems Chiefly Lyrical (1830) and Poems (1833), were considered too sentimental by many critics. Signs of future greatness could be detected in some of the poems in these collections, however. In 1842, a new volume entitled Poems was published. This work, consisting of heavily revised poems from the two earlier collections as well as many new poems, helped to establish Tennyson's fame. His masterpiece, In Memoriam (1850), crowned his fame. The work is a tribute to his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, whose sudden death in 1833 was a crucial event in the poet's life. The year it was published he succeeded Wordsworth as poet laureate of England. Thereafter, he became tremendously popular and held the respect and admiration of the nation, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. From that point, Tennyson also became the poet of the establishment, and for the next 40 years he was the Parnassian idol whom younger poets would vainly seek to topple. In many of his poems, including "Ulysses," "The Princess," and "Idylls of the King" (1859--1885), Tennyson trumpeted the creed of the benevolent tyrant. It was this embrace of an authoritarian universe that, as much as his versecraft, had earned him the respect of the British monarchs. His lifelong fascination with King Arthur was the inspiration for Idylls of the King, a series of 12 narrative poems published over a period of 26 years. In 1888, Tennyson chronologically arranged these 12 poems, thus depicting the full story of Arthur and his vision of the perfect state. Tennyson's last poem, "Crossing the Bar," was a 16-line lyric written while crossing from Lymington to the Isle of Wight. It was included in a collection entitled Demeter and Other Poems published in 1889. Tennyson's most characteristic form of poetry was the idyl, a poem of country life. These poems frequently take the form of dramatic reveries that tell a story. Mood is often created through the power of richly described settings. All of Tennyson's work reflects his talent for achieving fine shades of poetic expression, and his lyrics express the emotions and experiences shared by all people. His work is also notable for its heroic quality. In 1883, Tennyson was awarded the title of Baron Tennyson by Queen Victoria; his full title was Baron of Aldworth and Farringford. When he died in 1892, he was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. Tennyson's letters show almost nothing of the vividness and brilliance of his poetry, but Cecil Y. Lang and Edgar F. Shannon have been publishing them for their sidelights. More important for an understanding of Tennyson's poetry, the century-long ban on publishing the contents of Tennyson's notebooks, held by Trinity College in Cambridge, was lifted not long ago; an edition of In Memoriam, incorporating these variants, was brought out by Susan Shatto and Marion Shaw in 1982. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1854
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 81
- Popularity
- 393,411
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.69)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 10
