Charge of the Light Brigade

Question 1

What is Charge of the Light Brigade about?

Answer 1

• Charge of the Light Brigade tells the story of a group of soldiers who are ordered to make a mad charge towards certain death
• They charge heroically & with fearlessness but few remain as they retreat
• Charge of the Light Brigade highlights the bravery of the soldiers whilst simultaneously questioning the authorities that ordered the soldiers to charge to their deaths

Question 2

What is the contextual significance of Tennyson?

Answer 2

• Tennyson was made Poet Laureate, a post which bound him into not making criticisms of British aristocracy & glorifying the British War effort
• The war effort was unpopular with the public as the Light Brigade often consisted of people from the lower classes who were lightly armoured

Question 3

What is the contextual significance of the Crimean War?

Answer 3

• The Charge of Light Brigade was based on the Battle of Balaclava on 25th of October 1854 whereby a charge was made headfirst into enemy guns as a result of a communication error, as a part of the Crimean War
• The Crimean War was as originally a conflict between Russia & the Ottoman Empire however France and Britain got involved to prevent a Russian expansion

Question 4

What quote reflects the experience of war through the pain of the soldiers?

Answer 4

“storm’d at with shot and shell”

Question 5

How does “storm’d at with shot and shell” reflect experience of war through the pain of the soldiers?

Answer 5

• Tennyson utilises the harsh plosives of the ‘t’ and ‘d’ here in order to show the repetitive pain of the soldiers in the belligerent war- this creating a harsh and painful sound on the ears to impress the pain of war upon the reader

Question 6

What quote reflects misuse of power?

Answer 6

“someone had blunder’d”

Question 7

How does “someone had blunder’d” reflect misuse of power?

Answer 7

• Due to his role as the Poet Laureate, Tennyson was bound by his role in the criticisms he could make to those in power
• Therefore, we see Tennyson be more conservative & subtle in his criticisms
• The vagueness in the usage of the word “someone” shows how there was a profound lack of responsibility for the massacre, with those in power not being truly held accountable for their actions
• This also shows how Tennyson was unable to criticise the aristocracy as freely as he would have liked

Question 8

What quote reflects experience of war through the heroism of soldiers?

Answer 8

“rode the 600”

Question 9

How does “rode the 600” reflect experience of war through the heroism of soldiers?

Answer 9

• Tennyson also uses the epistrophe of “rode the 600” to order to emphasise the soldier’s heroism at the end of every paragraph
• Tennyson lists the dangers & uncertainties that they face but always ends by emphasising the soldier’s courage
• This would be condemned by a modern readership, as they understand the pointlessness of not only this sacrifice, but the multitude of sacrifices by helpless individuals in wars & battles that their sacrifices played a part to nothing

Question 10

What are the two pieces of form in the poem?

Answer 10

• Irregular stanza length
• Irregular Rhyme scheme

Question 11

Why does Tennyson use irregular stanza length?

Answer 11

• Tennyson varies his stanza length admirably, never truly allowing the reader to settle in or feel any sense of consistency
• The varied stanza length also allows for a sense of chaos to be communicated to the reader, mimicking how the soldiers were being shot at by an enemy they could not fairly encounter

Question 12

Why does Tennyson uses an irregular rhyme scheme?

Answer 12

• The poem uses an irregular rhyme scheme with rhyming couplets between indented lines
• The couplets create a repetitive sense of inevitability, similar to how no matter how fearless the charge, the outcome of it was decided beforehand
• The presence of an irregular rhyme scheme also adds chaos into the poem, leaving it unable to settle into rhythm, and thusly mimicking the chaos of battle

Question 13

What is the structural significance of dactylic dimeter?

Answer 13

• Tennyson uses Dactylic Dimeter (long syllable followed by two short syllables) in order to mimic the sound of a horse’s hooves whilst running into battle
• The repetition of this thrusts the reader into the heat of battle, making them feel the charge
• It also communicates how the soldiers have no choice but to follow the charge and run into battle; the long syllable may represent their suspense & reluctancy, yet the two short syllables highlighting how they had to fight anyways

Question 14

What is the structural significance of end stops?

Answer 14

• Each stanza ends with punctuation, exacerbating the idea of finality
• The stanzas are not ended with enjambment as this does not accurately reflect how the soldier’s fate was finalised and their death was inevitable