The Charge of The Light Brigade (Questions)
The Charge of The Light Brigade (Questions)
The Charge of The Light Brigade (Questions)
Hi dear students who actually searched for this for their SPM answer. Well, to me, you have
come to a simple blog with simple explanation that might bring to your simple sense in learning
this poem. Actually, this poem is not that difficult to understand and as you can see, after you
read the poem, you might come across a few things, which maybe a recall from what you have
learned in your classes. Remember? During those early month of the years, before lemangs took
over your body? Remember? haha...
Now, let me tell you a bit about the poet. Alfred Lord Tennyson was born on 6 August 1809 in
Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. He was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland from 1850
till his death at the age of 83. In his poems, Tennyson used a wide range of subject matter,
ranging from medieval legends to classical myths and from domestic situations to observations
of nature, as source material for his poetry. His poem are noted for the richness of his imagery
and descriptive writing. He also handled rhythm masterfully.
In 1855, Tennyson produced one of his best-known poems "The Charge of the Light Brigade", a
tribute to the heroic British cavalrymen involved in an ill-advised charge on 25 October 1854,
during the Crimean War. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in
English literature. He died on 3rd October 1892 at Aldworth. He was buried at Westminster
Abbey.
This poem is about the 600 British soldiers as mentioned in the poet's background. It also about
the heroism and courage of a brigade. Well, many died in that battle which is called by Crimean
War (1854-1856). The soldier belonged to a light brigade which means they were on horseback
and armed only with sabres and baton (light arms). By some mistake by one *in the poem said
so, and they were ordered into a valley which had heavily armed Russian enemy battalions on
three sides - front, left and right. The Russians were fully armed and they were very powerful
and they had powerful cannons. Now, when the light brigade charged into this "valley of death",
they were massacred by the cannons fire.Yes, most of them died but they showed great heroism
and patriotism in battle. On one side, well, we can see how heroism and patriotism took part in
the way we think, but hey! the coin has two sides right? another side would be the challenging
ideas of the concept of obedience, patriotism and nationalism. Don't you think so?
Moral values:
1. Patriotism
2. Duty
3. Anti-war sentiment
The persona :
The poem is narrated by an omniscient (all-seeing) narrator who reports not only the action but
the thoughts and spirit of the 600 men as a collective unit. There is also a reference that
"someone has blundered".
Tone/Mood
Since the poem is about war so, it is clear that the tone and mood is quite intense and as the
overall mood, it would be collective action, rather than individual impulse. The poem has the
sound of military march and also the feeling of exhaustion, something like that. But to me, as
long as you could imagine how war is about then, marks are waiting for you students! but make
sure you relate your answer with the poem. Easy right?
As for the Language and Style, well, as you can see, there were Repetition. Why? As you all
know, we repeat things because we want to make a bold statement by saying a few times. In this
poem, the repetition (refrains) was used to create hypnotic effect and the refrains give us the
impression of an army marching forward. *I will explain more on Language and Style of this
poem, once I read it VERY thoroughly, ok?
Point of view :
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2. In stanza 2,
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