The Charge of the Light Brigade key quotes Flashcards
(7 cards)
“Rode the six hundred. Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!”
He used metonymy replacing the “light brigade” with the “six hundred” done to suggest that hundreds were killed but also that the charge against impossible odds were carried out by few men
- It emphasises the logical conclusion that the men must have made - That death was inevitable, to provide this you look at the ease of the rhyme with “brigade” than with “hundred”
!= declarative, = generals ultimate ownership and authority over their choices.
General is playing God = choosing not to protect = negligence of general, antithesis of army general VS soilders
” Valley of death”
(Psalm 23) Biblical allusion to suit his Christian audience tastes - his readers know it by heart - Tennyson has done this to influence (nudge) people to see war as a just war, with God on the British’s side (Gods protection = irony )
Repeated
“Some one had blunder’d “
Indented line = separation of power, mimics their bravery and progression of cavalry
See “blunder’d “ as a consequence of war rather than incompetence. Instead of blaming officers who gave the order, its only a nameless “someone” to blame.
context to this = poem written as propaganda to build public support for the war, he wrote it to persuade country that the costly war would still reveal British greatness
The word Blunder’d is a word you trip over- the word itself is a blunder = which calls attention to the word but subtly because of his role as poet laureate
Emphasise blunder = wrong decisions of war
“Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die”
Anaphora = lacks individualism
Dactylic dimeter = pace the poem, mirror the rhythm of horses galloping towards the enemy line
repeated = continuous progress on battle = continuous bravery/ resilience
Mimicks rigid discipline and unquestioning of solders
“While horse and hero fell - Back into the mouth of hell”
End of dactylic dimeter = mirrors end of solders lives
“fell” = euphemism, demonstrates their bravery
Rhyming couplets are present
Form and structure
Dactylic dimeter :This creates a falling rhythm that mimics the sound of horses’ hooves, marching feet, and drumbeats.
Irregular rhyme scheme : The poem has an irregular rhyme scheme, with rhyming couplets between indented lines. The couplets create a sense of inevitability, while the irregular rhyme scheme introduces chaos.
Six stanzas : The Charge of the Light Brigade uses six stanzas to represent the 600 soldiers in the Light Brigade and to reinforce the message that they should be remembered for their bravery.
CONTEXT
Tennyson had an unhappy childhood caused by his abusive father who left his mother and her
children fearful for their safety. He did, however, receive a good education through his middle class
family and rich relatives who allowed him to attend excellent grammar schools. After a period of
experiencing intense poverty, Tennyson was given the role of poet laureate. In this position, he was
duty bound to glorify war to the British public to defend the positions of the aristocracy.
The Crimean War
Initially this was a conflict between Russia and the Ottoman empire however, eventually France
and Britain got involved to prevent Russian expansion. This was unpopular with the British public who saw it as unnecessary and as this was the most well documented war at the time, they were aware of the mistakes made. The light brigade were often members of the lower class who were
lightly armoured and on horseback.
