The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Question 1

Context in The Charge of the Light Brigade:

Answer 1

• There was a misunderstanding and over 600 cavalrymen charged down a narrow valley straight into the fire of Russian cannons
• Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the poem as a tribute to the men that died

Question 2

Form in The Charge of the Light Brigade:

Answer 2

• Ballad - tells a historic story, one that people don’t forget
• So people can honour the soldiers but also don’t forget the stupidity of the officers’ orders
• Has a refrain - “six hundred”
• Dactylic metre - one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables = Tennyson wants us to appreciate the soldiers bravery by mimicing the galloping of horses to make the reader feel like they are there on the battlefield

Question 3

“Half a league, half a league, half a league onward,”

Answer 3

• Repetition and rhythm sounds like galloping horses’ - the impression they are unstoppable
• Repetition emphasises how near death is in war - shows how unpredictable war is
• Shows their military discipline - despite the risks they follow the orders trusting the instituitions blindly

Question 4

“Rode the six hundred.”

Answer 4

• Repetition of this at the end of the first three stanzas emphasises the numbers of them and highlights the loss of life later

Question 5

“Storm’d at with shot and shell,”

Answer 5

• Sibilance emphasises the idea of ammunition flying at them
• “Storm’d” is a contraction and it’s following the regular metre which highlights the lengths of conformity the soldiers trust their superiors for their life

Question 6

“Into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of hell”

Answer 6

• Personification of death and hell to make them seem like monsters that can’t be escaped from
• The soldiers are objectified emphasising that they have to follow their superiors’ orders blindly

Question 7

“The sabre stroke shatter’d and sunder’d.”

Answer 7

• Sibilance makes it sound violent
• The dental alliteration gives a sense of authority - instituitions have an unfair amount of power which leaves the soldiers powerless with their lives at risk

Question 8

“Honour the charge they made! Honour the light brigade,”

Answer 8

• Command word repeated to leave the reader on the thought of honouring them
• Ironic as the soldiers were commanded into the valley and died but the speaker is commanding the reader to honour the soldiers

Question 9

“Someone had blundered”

Answer 9

• Critisizing the leadership error
• “Blundered” = stupid and careless mistake
• The dactylic metre is broken and is shortened like the soldiers’ lives had shortened.