“The Charge of the Light Brigade” Cannon to right of them,

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Cannon to left of them,

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.
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
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.

‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’

Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone 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.
 WORD MEANING
League
an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, es
Valley
pecially one following the course of a stream.

Charge to attack by rushing violently against:

to break down the courage of completely, as by sudden danger or
Dismayed
trouble; dishearten thoroughly; daunt:

to make a gross or stupid mistake, especially through carelessness

Blundered
or mental confusion:
Volleyed to fly or be discharged together, as missiles.
Shell a hard, protecting or enclosing case or cover.

not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or

Boldly
rebuff; courageous and daring:
 MEANING OF THE STANZA

Stanza 1
• The light calvary was marching to the Valley of
Death because the foes were no match for them.
• It was like committing suicide.
• They were 600 of them riding horses fighting in a
battle.
• Their leader ordered them to move forward and
confiscate the guns to prevent the guns from
being carried away by the enemies.
Stanza 2
• The soldiers were still moving forward.
• No one was discouraged by the fact that
somebody had made a foolish mistake by giving
them a wrong order.
• They were not in the position to answer any
questions nor to ask why.
• They kept on moving because it was their
responsibility and they received order from their
superior.
• Even if they were fated to die, all the six hundred
of them were still moving forward.
Stanza 3
• The soldiers bravely fought the battle.
• They were attacked from their right, their left
but they still moved forward.
• True enough, they were also attacked from
the front.
• But they marched fearlessly to the Valley of
Death and fought until their last breaths.
 Themes

1. Warfare and conflict

2. Carrying out a given duty
3. Courage
4. Death and destruction