The Charge of the Light Brigade

The speaker hopes to commemorate the actions of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava. Immense sympathy is given to the “noble six hundred” (Line 55) who fought. Yet, the speaker also questions the tactical error made and explains how a series of devastating factors cost so many lives. Of the 670 men who served in the Charge of the Light Brigade, 271 were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.

The first stanza begins with the brigade starting for battle, galloping at one and a half mile lengths—“[h]alf a league, half a league, / [h]alf a league onward” (Lines 1-2). With this repetition, the speaker shows how the men make pace with surety and speed. It also places us in medias res, or in the middle of the ensuing action, suggesting that forces are already in motion and cannot be stopped. This aligns the reader with the soldiers as the action unfolds. The speaker and the reader both know the outcome of the failed mission, however, and are aware that the brigade is plunging into “the valley of Death” (Line 3)—the literal valley in the Ukrainian peninsula between the Causeway and Fedyukhin Heights. Surrounded by Russians on three sides, the Brigade meets certain casualties.

In his December 9, 1854 version of the poem, Tennyson included Officer Louis Nolan’s name as the speaker of the dialogue, “‘Forward the Light Brigade! / Charge for the guns!’ he said” (Lines 5-6). He later realized that the disastrous charge relied on a chain of command and it was perhaps unfair to single out Nolan as the sole perpetrator of miscommunication, especially as Nolan died in the first minute of battle. Tennyson replaced his name with a simple “he” (Line 6), which adds to the lack of clarity for the reason for the command, which precipitated the crisis. The sense that the command was fuzzy is conveyed by the second stanza’s lines in which it is repeated. The speaker wonders, “was there a man dismayed?” (Line 10). In other words, did anyone question this seemingly foolhardy order into such a dangerous valley? It doesn’t seem so; according to Tennyson’s speaker, since no “soldier knew / someone had blundered” (Lines 11-12).

Because the error was not immediately obvious, the command went unquestioned. This may have been because Nolan and the men assumed the order was part of a reasoned tactical assault. The speaker points out, though, that a British soldier would follow his commander even so. A soldier would not “make reply” (Line 13) or “reason why” (Line 14). Orders were to be enacted, regardless of the consequence. Perhaps one of the most quoted lines of the poem is about this response to military duty—“Theirs but to do and die” (Line 15)—which sums up the idea that a soldier’s duty was to act without reservation. Although this line is often misquoted as to do or die, the speaker clearly notes that the brigade knew its fate as they surveyed their assignment, suggesting that they will “do and die” (Line 15, emphasis added). This is discipline, bravery, and acceptance of doom—a suicide mission. The refrain “Into the valley of Death / [r]ode the six hundred” (Lines 16-17) clearly shows that this choice has catastrophic results.

It is important to remember that the Light Brigade was armed only with sabers, while the Russian forces were using artillery shells and guns. The men were quickly surrounded in the valley, which the speaker conveys in the description of the “cannon[s] to right of them / […] to left of them, / […] in front of them” (Lines 18-20). All these cannons “volle[y] and thunde[r]” until the men are “stormed” (Line 22). The speaker compliments the men for riding “boldly” (Line 23) and “well” (Line 23) but doesn’t fail to acknowledge the beastly power of warfare. It is personified as a thing that consumes the men, who go “into [its] jaws of Death, / into the mouth of hell” (Lines 24-25). While some critics have indicated that Tennyson composed the poem to be purely patriotic, even calling it jingoistic, the torment of war here is also vividly expressed.

The men are outnumbered as they fight against an enemy that has weapons that surpass theirs. Still, they “plunged in the battery-smoke” (Line 32) until “Cossack and Russian / [r]eeled from the sabre stroke” (Lines 34-35). This “wild charge” (Line 51) is both spirited and knowingly self-destructive. The brigade must be admired for “sabring the gunners” (Line 29) until “the line they broke” (Line 32), but this small gain isn’t without cataclysmic fatalities. When they return, it was “not / not the six hundred” (Lines 37-38). The speaker’s repetition of “not” (Lines 37-38) creates a verbal stutter, which, especially when read aloud, effectively relays emotional grief and regret. The men are brave, but the casualties are too high. While admiring the men’s ability to fight, the audience must also acknowledge the loss of 40% of the brigade’s men. The lack of fairness in the order, the battle, and its consequences cannot be ignored.

Even as they turn to retreat, there are “cannon[s] to right of them / […] left of them / […] behind them” (Lines 39-41). This time, when “[s]tormed at with shot and shell / […] horse and hero fell” (Lines 43-44), which significantly contrasts with the earlier line “[s]tormed at with shot and shell / […] boldly they rode and well” (Lines 22-23). Here the disaster has struck, and the men cannot survive the fiercer weapons. The survivors return “through the jaws of Death, / Back from the mouth of hell” (Lines 46-47), as if regurgitated by the beast. Now, however, they exist in fewer numbers, and in lesser form. “All that was left of them” (Line 48) indicates the living men, but also how they are affected by the horrible battle; they are made lesser internally. They are no longer whole.

The speaker wants those reading to “honour” (Lines 53, 54) the men and their act, giving them “glory” (Line 50). The speaker also urges readers to see the “wild charge” (Line 51) in terms of awe and to see the 600 as “noble” (Line 55), whether they lived or died. Yet, the rousing quality of the last stanza does not entirely take away from the tragedy of the error made in the first place, which sent nearly 300 men to their deaths and life-altering injuries.