Analysis of "the Charge of the Light Brigade"

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" tells the story of the British Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava, during the Crimean War (1853-1856). The Brigade received poorly-phrased order, which the commander further misinterpreted. This caused them to charge "Half a League" (about a mile and a half) up a valley surrounded on three sides by Russian artillery, in an attempt to neutralize a battery of Russian guns. The Brigade lost about 270 men out of more than 600 (history is unclear on exactly how many men took place in the charge) while completing their objective.

In my first few readings of the poem, it seems clear that the purpose of the poem was to both praise the soldiers who took place in such a courageous charge, and to lambaste the officers who sent them on such a charge. Upon further re-reading, however, a subtle feeling of the power of self-determination becomes evident. This underlying feeling becomes more and more obvious when lines 12-16 are read: "Not though the soldier knew, Some one had blundered: Their's was not to make reply, Their's not to reason why, Their's but to do and die,". These lines show that the soldier's unquestioning obedience, while noble and courageous, led to their suicidal charge. Tennyson seems to be implying that if the soldiers had stopped and thought about the ridiculousness of the order, they would have been spared from destruction,

The poem is written in short, powerful lines that vividly bring the images and tone of the poem out. The first two lines repeat the phrase "Half a league" (L 1-2), to display the distance that the Brigade charged. This also sets a strong, drum-like cadence for the poem. This rhythm is seen through the entirety of the poem, and helps sets an appropriate militaristic mood. The poem is composed of six stanzas with which have no set number of lines, the smallest being six lines and the largest being twelve. The fact that two unstressed syllables follow every stressed syllable gives the poem a dactylic rhythm, which contributes to the marching, militaristic feel of the poem.

The first stanza also contains an allusion, in the line "Into the valley of Death, rode the six hundred." (L 7-8). This is both a biblical allusion to the famous line from the 23rd psalm "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil: for thou art with me," and symbolism. This allusion helps the readers to visualize the scene, and portrays the soldiers as being protected by God. This symbolism of holy warriors is not an uncommon theme to British military literature, and can be seen in one way or another in many stories or other forms of art which came out of this period.

Tennyson's use of symbolism and imagery also contribute to the poems tone greatly. Lines like