Old Poetry Old Poetry Poetry • Poets • Essays • Forums •

The Charge Of The Light Brigade


Half a league, half a league,
      Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
      Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
      Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
      Some one had blunder'd:
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.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
      Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
      Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
      All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
      Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
      Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
      Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
      Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
      All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
      Noble six hundred!

Notes

At the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 during the Crimean War, the Light Brigade, consisting of British cavalry regiments, charged down a narrow valley against Russian Troops who had captured some British guns. There were Russian troops who had captured some British guns. The Russians were at the end of the valley as well as on each side of it. The attack should never have been made, for it had no chance of success: It was due to a blunder brought on by misunderstanding an order sent by the commander-in-chief.
The obedience and courage of the soldiers, of whom less than a third survived won great fame for the Light Brigade.

Leave a guest comment (subject to review)

: Comment:

Name: (required)
Email: (required, hidden from spam)

Comments

1 - 11 of 11
  • poet007
    October 10, 2007

    Edit | Reply
    the old ways seem lost yet in times of war
    men remember your fellow man is your brother.

    This poem reflects the nobility which seems
    lost in todays world.


  • Old Poetry Moderators member
    January 8, 2007
    Edit | Reply

    <

    Many poets believe that Rhyme and Rhythm are the basic elements of poetry and for many hundreds of years Rhyming Poetry was the norm and people wrote many different styles from limericks to villanelles but they all had rhyme patterns.
    Indeed it was so much the standard that people invented a special name for poetry that did not rhyme.
    Now we appreciate that poetry doesn't have to rhyme but there is nothing wrong of it does.


  • rufina caraid Moderators member
    September 17, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    Kiplings response

    http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/7622
    a poem: 'The Last of the Light Brigade' written in response to his poem

  • silvertom
    September 16, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    awsome story

    can anyone tell me of a book that gives the history of the war that this battle takes place in ? I would love to read about the causes that lead these brave and valiant warriors into the valley of death. Has anyone asked themselves if they could do the same in todays world?


    • I-Like-Rhymes Moderators member
      September 18, 2006
      Edit | Reply
      This disasterous episode was part of the Crimean War and details can be found here http://www.crimeanwar.org/.
      The military blunders based on misunderstood or flawed "military information" not only can happen today they actually do although maybe not as spectaculatly as this.


    • rufina caraid Moderators member
      September 17, 2006
      Edit | Reply

      silvertom

      http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html

      try here for information
      also
      The Reason Why: The Story of the Fatal Charge of the Light Brigade by Cecil Woodham-Smith (Paperback - Jul 1, 1991)
      Across the bottom links you will see one for 'Amazon' where you can search for reference books.

  • raidy666
    May 21, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I love the repartition of the poem and the effect it has. Overall, its a great poem but sadly we had to analyse it in Eng.Lit and it ruined the whole poem for me.

  • Loren
    January 23, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I love this poem, we studied it in English recently. I have aleays loved Tennyson especially in his most political of times. This poem is so sombre but beautiful at the same time. It is beautifully haunting.
    It has some wonderful imagery and some amazing metaphors in there.


  • April 25, 2004
    Edit | Reply
    With all we are learning about the lead up to Iraq, the second verse is haunting. Change the 600 to, 700 and counting.


  • February 5, 2004
    Edit | Reply

    Super-dooper!

    I love this poem,just the flow of the words and the absolute beauty of it.I sit at home every night and read it to myself sometimes 3 times over,it's almost like my Lord's prayer. I wish I'd been alive when Alfred had, I'm sure we would have been the best of friends.


  • August 11, 2003
    Edit | Reply
    Of the 600 men of the light brigade only 147 returned from the charge. The finest cavalry brigade in Europe, destroyed in one bloody day. I love this because it is a tribute to the courage of soldiers, beyond the stupidity of officers or the futility of war. It just tells the story of brave and good men doing their duty for their God, for their Queen and for their Country. may the bugle never be silenced, may the rallying cry be ever heard and may their sacrifice never die.

  • FallenAngel09
    July 23, 2003
    Edit | Reply
    I absolutely love this poem, but its so sad at the end. The flow is great, and so is the repitition. It repeated words without sounding mundane or stupid, which i find very very very very good. This is, also, one of my favorite poems, I have even written it down somewhere in one of my journals, so that if i wanted to read it again it will just be write there for me. Any way good poem and i hope to read some more like this, as i have with O Captain! My Captain! also a spectacular poem. They both have something in common if you didn't notice, they are both about a time during a war. O Captain My Captain is just about the after effects of a war, and The Charge of the Light Brigade is about a battle that wasn't even supposed to happen. Again i loved this poem.
    Tiphanie

1 - 11 of 11