Alfred, Lord Tennyson

While reading some of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poetry, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” really made me think about the life and mindset of a soldier at war. Tennyson’s poem tells about a brigade of 600 British cavalry in the Crimean War who follow an order to make a foolish charge towards Russian forces. The poem honors the courage of these men and asks the reader to do the same. One of the things that really struck me in the poem is the way the men knew that they were galloping towards their death, yet they never had fear or questioned the orders of their commander. It was an honor to die and they expected nothing less.

The poem seems to have a steady beat almost with a galloping rhythm. While reading the poem, I felt like I was galloping along with the soldiers as they rode to their death. It really helps the reader to be able to connect with the Brigade and feel the atmosphere. In addition, the poem seems to be repetitive in many parts. The repetitive sounding of the poem reminds me of a brigade of soldiers all following orders and doing the same thing over and over. It gives the nature of the soldier.

When the soldiers were given their orders, “Forward the Light Brigade!” the speaker asks, “Was there a man dismay’d?” He then quickly answers as if he already knew the answer, “Not tho’ the soldier knew some one had blunder’d.” The soldiers knew that going forward was a mistake, yet not one of them showed fear or distress. Lines 13-17 seems to me like a mindset that has been drilled in the soldiers heads over and over so that they all have the same mind and are thinking the same. He describes:

“Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred” (ln 13-17).

All the cavalry knew to do is to follow orders and obey their commander. They never questioned or had hesitation, yet they rode courageously “into the valley of Death.”

The third stanza is interesting in the way it tells about the cannons around them. It tells of the “cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, [and] cannon in front of them.” The word cannon repeating gave me a sense that the cannons were all around them and were numerous. It seemed Tennyson is creating an overwhelming image here. Even though the cavalry was being shot at from all sides, they still “boldly” rode on “into the jaws of Death” and “mouth of Hell.” This image is a fierce image of death in which someone would think, “well surely they will turn around soon,” yet the six hundred continue to ride on.

As the cavalry charged the army, “all the world wonder’d.” Tennyson does not leave out an outsider’s view of the charge on the Russians. In fact, the worlds view is probably supposed to be identical to the reader’s. The rest of the world is not able to understand all that those soldiers are feeling. Only a soldier in battle can understand exactly why he continues to ride even though he knows that he is riding to his death. At the end of this stanza after the British cavalry have broke through their line and destroyed Russian and Cossack opponents, they ride back but, “not the six hundred.” At the end of every stanza before this one it has been, “Rode the six hundred,” but now the affects of the battle can be seen. The six hundred are no longer six hundred anymore.

The never ending pounding of the cannons can be heard by the reader again in the next stanza. Lines 39-44 are identical to the beginning of the third stanza in its description of the cannons except that the cannons are behind them now. The “survivors” and “heroes” have “came thro’ the “jaws of Death” and the “mouth of Hell.”

The last stanza seems to address the reader directly. He tells the reader to “Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, noble six hundred!” Even though the charge was foolish, we should still honor it for the soldiers and their courage through it. The poem is about the bravery and heroism of the soldiers, not about the charge itself. This poem really makes me think about all of the soldiers in history who have died fighting for something that they really believed in. Their honor and courage amazes me. It is one group of people in our history and present who I truly admire and am thankful.