How is power/conflict shown in Charge of the Light Brigade?
In the poem, Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson, war is presented
as a horrific tragedy for all. Tennyson explores the damage brought upon the
soldiers however he also looks at the honour they earn. This poem is about the
conflict the soldiers had to go through due to a bad order. In the first stanza, the
hierarchy is subtly portrayed as corrupt. Even after giving a bad order the person
wasn’t named to avoid shame and protect their reputation. ‘Charge for the gun! He
said:’ This pronoun he removes individuality and avoids placing blame on anyone. It
is as though Tennyson is saying that the real enemy isn’t the opposing side but the
corrupt leaders that incautiously send soldiers to lose their life. Throughout the
poem, Tennyson refers to the physical strain and pain that the soldiers have to go
through. He talks about how many soldiers unnecessarily lost their lives due to a
‘blunder’. The refrain ‘rode the six hundred’ that is repeated at the end of many
stanzas, shows that Tennyson wants the reader to remember the bravery of the
small group of soldiers. To help the reader sympathise with the death that
occurred, Tennyson constantly refers to life-threatening situations such as ‘cannons’,
‘sabres’ and ‘gunners’. He also wants the reader to understand the fear of death that
was constantly on the soldier's minds. Worries about dying painfully, ‘into the jaws
of death’ , and worries about going to hell, ‘into the mouth of hell’. In this poem, the
soldiers are presented with a lack of power, in that they must just accept orders and
follow through all the way to death. However, in the last stanza, there is a change
in the narrative and tense, so that the soldier's bravery is recognised and
praised.Tennyson makes an imperative order:
‘Honour the charge they made!
Honour the light brigade,
Noble six hundred’
These last lines change the tone of the poem. The language used in the last stanza,
‘glory’, ‘honour’ and ‘noble’ helps to create a semantic field of pride.
In the poem, Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson, war is presented
as a horrific tragedy for all. Tennyson explores the damage brought upon the
soldiers however he also looks at the honour they earn. This poem is about the
conflict the soldiers had to go through due to a bad order. In the first stanza, the
hierarchy is subtly portrayed as corrupt. Even after giving a bad order the person
wasn’t named to avoid shame and protect their reputation. ‘Charge for the gun! He
said:’ This pronoun he removes individuality and avoids placing blame on anyone. It
is as though Tennyson is saying that the real enemy isn’t the opposing side but the
corrupt leaders that incautiously send soldiers to lose their life. Throughout the
poem, Tennyson refers to the physical strain and pain that the soldiers have to go
through. He talks about how many soldiers unnecessarily lost their lives due to a
‘blunder’. The refrain ‘rode the six hundred’ that is repeated at the end of many
stanzas, shows that Tennyson wants the reader to remember the bravery of the
small group of soldiers. To help the reader sympathise with the death that
occurred, Tennyson constantly refers to life-threatening situations such as ‘cannons’,
‘sabres’ and ‘gunners’. He also wants the reader to understand the fear of death that
was constantly on the soldier's minds. Worries about dying painfully, ‘into the jaws
of death’ , and worries about going to hell, ‘into the mouth of hell’. In this poem, the
soldiers are presented with a lack of power, in that they must just accept orders and
follow through all the way to death. However, in the last stanza, there is a change
in the narrative and tense, so that the soldier's bravery is recognised and
praised.Tennyson makes an imperative order:
‘Honour the charge they made!
Honour the light brigade,
Noble six hundred’
These last lines change the tone of the poem. The language used in the last stanza,
‘glory’, ‘honour’ and ‘noble’ helps to create a semantic field of pride.
