An Explication of The Charge of the Light Brigade

An Explication of The Charge of the Light Brigade

The charge of the Light Brigade was a disastrous event that occurred

on October 25, 1854 during the Crimean War. On December 2, 1854,

Tennyson wrote the poem in response to an article that he read about

the incident only minutes before. In my first few readings of the

poem, I thought his only purpose was to memorialize the bravery and

heroism of the British soldiers that died during the attack. After

doing more research on this incident and several closer readings of

the work, I began to realize the use of double entendres that Tennyson

employed in several places within in the poem and the tone of the poem

in general. I now believe that Tennyson had two purposes for writing

this poem. As stated earlier, I believe his first purpose was to

memorialize those who so bravely gave their lives that day; his second

purpose, however, was to show the consequence of blind obedience to

another person strictly based on position of authority.

The poem is written in short, repetitive lines that resemble a

military cadence, and as you read them aloud you seem feel the

movement of the troops as they took up their position to prepare for

the charge. There are six stanzas that vary in length of six to twelve

lines. I believe Tennyson deliberately varied the length of the

stanzas in order to capture the atmosphere of confusion during this

encounter and for particular emphasis during the various phases of the

event. The imagery within each stanza also helps the reader to paint a

mental picture of what was occurring in each phase and the feelings of

those involved in the incident.

In the first stanz...

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...en that failed. This dual perception

is implied in lines 50 and 51 where he again uses two words that

appear to be used as double entendres. In line 50 he uses "wild" to

refer to their charge, which can mean it was a fantastic charge or a

disorderly charge. In line 50 he repeats and uses the word "wonder" in

a manner similar to his use of it in line 31. According to Dr. LuAnn

McCracken Fletcher, a third possibility for the question may be that

Tennyson may be saying, "When can we stop glorifying actions like

this?" - even as we honor the men that engaged in this action. He

concludes in lines 53-55 that all of the men should be honored for

their actions that day, both those that gave their lives in the line

of duty and perhaps more importantly, those that chose to retreat when

they realized that "someone had blundered."