anthology: charge of the light brigade.

Question 1

what is the meaning and purpose?

Answer 1

 Published six weeks after a disastrous battle against the Russians in the (unpopular) Crimean War.
 Describes a cavalry charge against Russians who shot at the lightly-armed British with cannon from three sides of a long valley.
 Of the 600 hundred who started the charge, over half were killed, injured or taken prisoner.
 It is a celebration of the men’s courage and devotion to their country, symbols of the might of the British Empire.

Question 2

what is the context?

Answer 2

 As Poet Laureate, he had a responsibility to inspire the nation and portray the war in a positive light (propaganda.)
 Although Tennyson glorifies the soldiers who took part, he also draws attention to the fact that a commander had made a mistake.
 This was a controversial point to make in Victorian times when blind devotion to those in power was expected.

Question 3

language and structure: explanation and quotes.

Answer 3

 “shot and shell”: sibilance creates whooshing sounds of battle.
 Dactylic dimeter (HALF-a league / DUM-de-de) mirrors the sound of horses galloping and increases the poem’s pace.
 Repetition of ‘the six hundred’ at the end of each stanza (epistrophe) emphasises huge loss.