There are fifteen poems in the GCSE Power & Conflict anthology.

For your exam, you will be given one poem in full, printed on the page, and you will be asked to compare this poem to another from the anthology.

All of the GCSE English Literature course is closed-book, meaning that you will need to learn at least three lines from each poem.

It is possible to get top marks for this question by making sure that you know the following:

• What the poem is about

• What the poem means

• The methods the poet uses to convey their message

• The links between the ideas of other poems in the anthology

Synposis

Whatever the question is, it is important that you understand what the poem is about. This will support you in adapting your argument to fit the focus of the question. This section includes:

• A general overview of the poem

• A detailed look at the poem line-by-line

• Analysis of the poem, giving Lord Tennyson’s intention and message

A General Overview of the Poem

Charge of the Light Brigade explores the power of poetry and patriotism to reframe a travestied tragedy as a cause for celebration of honour. The speaker, a third-person omniscient figure, relates a military blunder from the Crimean War that sent an underpowered infantry (the eponymous Light Brigade) into a battle of near-certain death. The poem depicts their valiant descent into doom and their subsequent celebration as noble heroes.

Line-by-Line

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.

In the first of six numbered stanzas, we are introduced with fervour to the “six hundred”. With the thrice-stated “half a league”, a dactyllic meter is established: the stress falling only on the first syllable, mimicking quite convincingly the galloping of hooves. This, coupled with the adverbial “onward”, gives a sense of formidable force and confidence. Indeed, even their setting, “the valley of Death” (twice-stated) is not so much seen as a site of their doom at this point as much as a place for them to dole out death, as the masters of death. 

Reinforcing this confident impression of the military pursuit is the use of dialogue. An unnamed “he” does not read as concerned when he “sa[ys]” his lines: “Forward, the Light Brigade!” and “Charge for the guns!”. Indeed, the imperative “Charge” and progressive “Forward”, in combination with the twice-repeated verb “[r]ode”, serve to depict the “six hundred” as an undaunted military powerhouse, about whom we should feel little concern at this point.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

Someone had blundered:

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

The second stanza of the poem repeats the affirmative “Forward, the Light Brigade!” line, restating the infantry’s confidence. It is immediately somewhat undermined, however, by the adjective “dismayed”, in the rhetorical question, “Was there a man dismayed?”, but this can be overlooked on the basis of its rhetorical power – we assume, at this point, that the answer is no, on account of the sheer might and valour of these men. However, the verb “blundered” is a much more certain indication that something is wrong. The dramatic irony, that no “soldier knew [that] Someone had blundered”, creates a striking juxtaposition between the confident cry of “Forward” and the reality of imminent calamity. The anonymising pronoun “Someone” is interesting; the blunderer is never identified.

The anaphora of the lines that follow (“Theirs [not] to [...]” thrice-stated) gives a celebratory but objectively grim depiction of unquestioning loyalty and obedience in military endeavours. It is not the role of the soldiers to “make reply [or] reason why”, but simply to “do” and to “die”, which is a damning statement about the value of these men’s lives in the context of war. The return to the refrain from the previous stanza – “Into the valley of Death / Rode the six hundred” – gives a sense of inevitability to it. Whatever the buildup, the outcome is the same: into the valley of Death. 

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

The third stanza represents the precipice of the conflict, the height of the eponymous “Charge”. Once again employing anaphora, Tennyson introduces us to absolute engagement: “Cannon[s]” in all directions: “to right [...] to left [...] in front”. The verbs that follow are unmistakably military: “Volleyed [...] thundered [...] Stormed”. In this context, the soldiers are praised for their skilful and valiant approach (“Boldly they rode and well”) into inevitable death. By now, the “valley of Death” has become more immediate and terrifying: the “jaws” of Death and the “mouth of Hell”. This anthropomorphic sense of threat serves to weaken the impression of the soldiers’ fortitude as they descend upon the waiting enemy. 

That said, at this point, they are still “the six hundred”.

Flashed all their sabres bare,

Flashed as they turned in air

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wondered:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right through the line they broke;

Cossack and Russian

Reeled from the sabre stroke

Shattered and sundered.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

The fourth and by far the longest stanza represents the conflict fully realised. The Light Brigade is characterised as unmistakably (and unrealistically) mighty: “Sabring the gunners”, breaking “Right through the line”, leaving the enemy “Reel[ing]”, “Shattered and sundered”, before “r[iding] back”. The truth, that this was a fool’s errand that resulted in unnecessary loss, is veiled in the late addition: that they are now “Not the six hundred” they were before. The event is rendered cinematic, not only by the blood-free euphemising of conflict and unlikely heroism, but also by the phrase “while / All the world wondered”. There is a very real sense that this event was invested in by all. In a very Anglocentric move, the nation of Britain is inflated to “All the world”.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon behind them

Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell,

They that had fought so well

Came through the jaws of Death,

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of six hundred.

The fifth stanza is a developed repetition of the third stanza, with the first five lines being identical. Then, there is divergence. The line “Boldly they rode and well” becomes two lines: “While horse and hero fell, / They that had fought so well”. Whilst it is euphemistic, there is nevertheless a recognition of loss, here, with the verb “fell” and the past perfect tense of “had fought” combining for this effect. The two lines “Into the jaws of Death, / Into the mouth of Hell” from the third stanza has now become “Came through the jaws of Death, / Back from the mouth of Hell”, representing a conclusion: “Came through” and came “Back from”. This could be framed as heroism, if it were not for the final lines of the stanza: “All that was left of them, / Left of six hundred”. The loss is felt, when compared with the third stanza particularly.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honor the charge they made,

Honor the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred!

In the final and shortest stanza by far, we enter into reflection. The abstract noun “glory”, the repeated verb “Honor”, and the adjective “Noble” combine to give the impression that the soldiers’ deaths are something that earned them respect. The “wild” and “Honor[able] charge” they made qualified them for adulation – which, as the rhetorical question, “When can their glory fade?”, suggests, is forever. The shortness of this final stanza adds weight to its message; there is nothing more to say.

Writer’s Methods

This section aims to support your revision by providing you with concrete and clear examples of methods that Lord Tennyson uses. 

Remember: methods support meaning, not the other way round. You will gain more marks focusing your essays on the big ideas of the poems and then supporting these ideas with the methods that the writer uses.

Form
The poem is tightly structured in terms of both rhyme and meter, giving it an almost musical quality, suiting the rhythmic galloping nature of the eponymous Charge of the Light Brigade. It is also rigid in its use of initial capitalisation and end-stopping, rendering it a very neat and traditional poem. However, the stanzas’ dramatically varying length undermine this stability, matching our impression of the events of the poem: a resolute success on the surface, but with glaring oversights underneath.

Structure
The numbered stanzas make a distinct narrative of the poem. The first stanza depicts the initial vigour of the charge toward battle; the second tells us that it is due for disaster due to a mistake; the third shows the descent into battle; the fourth contains the entire battle, including its losses; the fifth parallels the third, but this time focuses on exit rather than entrance to the battle; and the sixth dwells on the nature of glory after death in war.

Language
Despite the military themes of the poem, it is decidedly lacking in gore. The violence is masked by references of disembodied weaponry, like “Cannon to right of them”, and “the sabre stroke”, as well as decidedly euphemistic references to death, like “horse and hero fell” or “All that was left”. In order to preserve the heroic impression of what was, in truth, likely a terrifying bloodbath, Tennyson has sanitised the battle’s violence.

Context

At MyEdSpace, we use this analogy to discuss context – ketchup, salt and chips.

If you ordered a portion of chips, and asked for salt, you wouldn’t then dump the salt into the corner of your chips and start dipping each individual chip into the salt. 

When you put salt on your chips, you sprinkle it over, sparingly, so as to give a good coverage of salt across the chips as a whole. Context is just like salt on chips. 

Context is not ketchup – because it would be appropriate to squeeze ketchup into the corner of your plate and dip each chip in (and in fact, that is advised).

So when you’re including contextual information in your essays, sprinkle it across the essay, just like you sprinkle salt on your chips.

Let’s link the context to the key ideas and themes of the poem.

Biographical Insight

Tennyson was, at the time, the country’s Poet Laureate, giving him something of a divided duty: first, to himself as a poet (lyrical, emotive, rhythmic) and his principles (anti-oppression sentiment); but also to the country and crown that funded and endorsed him (who would wish to see the Light Brigade’s charge as a heroic endeavour worthy of praise more than criticism) — hence the subtlety with which he addresses the “blunder”.

Real-life influence

The real-life event to which the poem refers was a military fiasco during the Battle of Balaclava (1854) during the Crimean War, during which an underpowered light cavalry unit of ~600 soldiers were sent into a highly-armed artillery contingent of Russian forces, owing to a misinterpreted order from ‘the top’, Lord Raglan. Many were slaughtered needlessly.

Comparison

You are required to write an essay in your exam that is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two poems from the Power & Conflict anthology. Therefore, it is very important to revise the poems in pairs and to enter the exam with an idea of what poem you will choose to compare once you know what the named poem is.

Charge of the Light Brigade and Exposure 

Both poems explore the horrors of futile military endeavours. Both poems depict wartime struggles without actually detailing any bloodshed. However, Charge of the Light Brigade focuses on the heroic status afforded to the dead in war, whilst Exposure dwells on the real-time misery experienced by those stuck in tedious trench warfare, exposed to the elements.

Similarity:

Both poems avoid describing any violent events.

Evidence and Analysis

Tennyson’s poem explores very real stories of death in entirely euphemistic language. When revealing the deaths of many of the “six hundred”, he reveals that “horse and hero fell”, with the verb “fell” indicating death, and the alliterative honouring language of “horse and hero” figuring as rose-tinted perspectives on these living, dying beings.

Owen’s poem details the ways in which trench warfare need not contain any actual ‘action’ in order to be deadly. Alongside the litany of references to the weather’s effects (e.g. “iced east winds that knive us”), there is the refrain: “but nothing happens”. The conjunction “but” indicates that Owen knew the expectation would be for violence and this contradicts it with the pronoun “nothing”.

Difference:

The poets present opposite receptions of the soldiers fighting.

Evidence and Analysis

In Tennyson’s  poem, the soldiers are lauded as heroes, without qualification.

In his poem, the language abounds with honouring terms. Throughout, the soldiers are called “noble”, are “Honor[ed]” and praised for riding “boldly” and “well”, thus achieving “glory” forever. They are even presented as not “dismayed” in the Face of certain death. It is crucial to Tennyson’s poem that these heroes come across as heroic.

Contrastingly, Wilfred Owen’s poem has the soldiers rejected by society.

In his poem, the soldiers do not receive a hero’s welcome. The speaker remarks that on him and his fellow soldiers “the doors are closed”, meaning they must “turn back to [their] dying”. That is the purpose they are given in this poem — simply to die, with that gerund “dying” rendering it an ‘activity’ or pursuit — and until such a time as they die in glory or return victorious they are “closed” out of society.