Charge of the Light Brigade

1237 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The victorian age in literature

The battle of Balaclava took place on October 25, 1854, and a tragic military disaster like no other, was about to be caught by the eyes of the nation. A blunder sparked by the animosity between two English Army leaders led to the death of over two hundred solders. The Battle took place during the Crimean War which was a war between Britain, Sardinia and France against Russia. Over six hundred soldiers forming the Light Brigade charged towards the Russian soldiers under orders of the two blundering army leaders. The miscommunication had cost the Light Brigade many lives. The valiant marching of the Brigade into the mouth of hell influenced the emergence of a new poetic figure. Alfred Tennyson was struck with the news of the event and unknowingly wrote what became, one of the most famous poems to date. He reflected his sense of nationalism through his piece “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Tennyson uses his influential position to cleverly create propaganda, not only for the purpose of magnifying the errors made during the patriotic charge, but also at the same time exemplifying the English Army’s loyal sense of obedience as a military success. In his early years, Alfred Tennyson was a strong but struggling poet with love and passion for his poetry. He went to college to pursue his poetic career and refine his skills. Education played a big hand in his achievement of success. Richard J. Dunn makes evident that “Tennyson earned his position in literature because of the remarkable range of his talents and his dedication throughout his long career to perfecting his art” (166d). After receiving a prestigious Chancellor’s gold medal award in 1829, Tennyson released a book of his poems in 1830 followed by his second book three year... ... middle of paper ... ... Book T.19 Encyclopedia. 2006 Edition. p.166d. print. Jones, Philip Dwight. “Balaklava, Battle of.” World Book Student. 2011 ed. Web. 30 March 2011. Marshall, Carol. “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Poetry Out Loud. School Library Journal, 2005: 59. Elibrary.Web. 31 March 2011. O’Gorman, Francis, ed. Victorian Poetry: An Annotated Anthology. Blackwell, 2004. Google Books. Web. 31 March 2011. Pearce Joseph. Literary Giants, Literary Catholics. Ignatious Press, 2005. Google Books. Web. 9 April. 2011. Southam, Brian. British Writers. Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892). Print. Southam, B.C. “Tennyson.” Writers and Their Works : NO 218. London: Longman Group, 1971. p.6. print. Steane, J.B. Literary Critics Tennyson. New York: Arco Publishing, 1969. p.106. print. “Tennyson, Alfred, Lord.” Funk and Wagnells New World Encyclopedia. EBSCO. Web. 7 April 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Compare and Contrast Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est

    1860 Words  | 4 Pages

    This quote suggests that Tennyson’s poem glorifies the war, celebrating the sacrifice they had made for their country. By glorifying the Brigade, Tennyson has ignored the obscurity and massacre of the war; this is shown by the loyalty that the soldiers have for their country. The commitment of war in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is only shown because Tennyson's looking at war from afar .We can see this because in the poem he has not used descriptive language to describe what war was like, and has not shown the real outcome of war.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Lord Alfred Tennyson´s The Charge of the Light Brigade

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Boldly they rode and well, into the jaws of Death, into the mouth of Hell.” That is an excerpt from Lord Alfred Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade, a poem highlighting the honor and death of war. The poem was chosen for this close reading essay because it has always been a personal favorite. It talks of the real events of the Battle of Balaclava, yet speaks of the life all soldiers must live. The Charge of the Light Brigade is a fascinating poem, both in the way it is formed, to the details of why it was created.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Charge Of The Light Brigade And O Captain My Captain

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charge of the light brigade and O captain my captain are poems about the defects of war and the impact it can have on people and the nation. Both authors give their perspective of war and how it impacts them. In order to do so they use literary devices to give their opinions. Charge of the Light Brigade and O Captain My Captain both share a theme of war but the authors give their own point of view of war using metaphors, personification, and tone.

    Read More

  • Descriptive Language and The Lady of Shallot

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    In any piece of lyrical poetry, authors must masterfully use the language of the poem to covey the intended meaning. In order to ensure the meaning is not lost, it is imperative that the author incorporates various aspects of the narrative to escalate the poem past its face value. Alfred Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shallot” is no exception to the rule. From lines like “blue unclouded weather” and “the gemmy bridle glitter’d free”, one can draw that descriptive language is Tennyson’s tool to revealing the underlying meaning (Griffith 334). In each of the four parts of “The Lady of Shallot”, Tennyson uses descriptive language to convey his intended meaning to the audience.

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Charge of the Light Brigade

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the poem we notice Tennyson's distaste for war. However he has made the battle itself rather exaggerated to show that war is not all about victory, bravery or patriotism, but death, blood and loss. He does, nevertheless, respect the soldiers involved and tries to make the reader appreciate the huge level of loss made by the mistake by one, somewhat more powerful man.

    Read More

  • Examination of Tennyson's use of Narrative Voice in his Poetry

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tennyson employs the effects of narrative voice frequently in his poetry, the emotional impression of which varies from poem to poem and indeed, from reader to reader. However, within the poems studied the use of a ‘voice’ appears to consistently attempt to convey some theme or emotive experience in which the reader is invited, if not encouraged, to experience from the perspective of the appropriate speaker.

    Read More

  • An Interpretation of “Dulce et Decorum Est”

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    What would it feel like to be in the middle of the bloodiest war in history? Surrounded by death on all sides it seems impossible that anybody would write poetry about this very subject. Thanks to the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est,” Wilfred Owen gives the reader a small window into the horrors that he witnessed firsthand in the carnage of battle. Faced with death at every turn, Owen takes the time to chronicle these terrible events that happened shortly before his own death. Owen uses rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to convey the message that people should be careful glorifying war because it is a very traumatic event that takes many innocent lives.

    Read More

  • Lord Tennyson and W.B Yeats: A Comparison of Women in Poetry

    1690 Words  | 4 Pages

    To begin, Alfred Tennyson was the fourth son in a large family with twelve children. Alfred’s brothers each had particular struggles they had to overcome, one had an opium addiction while another regularly fought with their father, the Reverend Dr. George Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson’s father was the son of a wealthy landowner, but was disinherited when he instead wished to join the clergy. Alfred’s childhood home was very chaotic by many accounts and full of eccentricities. George Tennyson tutored his sons in classical and modern languages to prepare them for university. Before Alfred left for Cambridge, he had already published a book with his brother Charles titled,” Poems By Two Brothers”. Many gifted undergraduates drifted towards him and encouraged him to write poetry seriously. Unfortunately, Alfred had to leave college in 1831 due to financial issues. He published a few works while he w...

    Read More

  • William Butler Yeats’ The Magi

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ellmann, Richard and Robert O'Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, 2nd edition.  New York:  W. W.        Norton, 1988.

    Read More

  • The Charge of the Light Brigade

    410 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Charge of the Light Brigade October 1854, the attention of the world's most powerful empire was. fixed in the territories of modern-day Ukraine. It was by no means a benevolent gaze the British Empire cast eastward. For it was the Crimean War, and at Balaclava, Britain took a beating which has been immortalized in Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem. The Charge of the Light Brigade.

    Read More

  • Tennyson's Ulysses: A Call to Humanity

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s subject matter and tone of his poetry became drastically different following the death of his best friend (Cain 126), a reaction to bearing the emotional brunt of life without him. This friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, whom Tennyson met in the poets’ club at Trinity College in Cambridge, and who was also engaged to Tennyson’s sister (Cain 126) died in Vienna at age 22 of a cerebral aneurysm (Cash 6). Combining pure emotion and thought into one, Tennyson finished “Ulysses,” one of his greatest poetic works, 20 days after being informed of his death (Cash 6).

    Read More

  • The Life of Alfred Lord Tennyson

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tennyson had a lot going on in 1831. Before he could take his degree test, he had to leave Cambridge early, due to the death of his father. When he returned home, he decided to stay for six years to take care of his mother and family. Another tragedy evolved in 1833. His second collection of poetry was criticized, heavily. Therefore, he decided not to publish another poem for the next ten years. When his best friend, Arthur Hallam, who happened to be married to his sister, suddenly passed away, it inspired Tennyson to write masterpieces such as: “In the Valley of Cauteretz” and “In Memoriam A.H.H”. In 1837...

    Read More

  • Alfred, Lord Tennyson

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Alfred, Lord Tennyson was an interesting man that transferred his emotions into his works of literature. He was a sensitive person and using those emotions into his works of art helped him survive into old life. The biggest influence in Lord Tennyson’s life was his best friend, Arthur Henry Hallam. Hallam suddenly died and it left a tragic hole in his life. However, having his friend pass away proved better for Tennyson’s life as it transferred into a beneficial job for him. Tennyson’s short poems considered questions of death, faith, and immortality (Jobin). Three moments in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s life is his rough childhood, loss of loved ones, and national honor.

    Read More

  • Poety of Alfred Lord Tennyson

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poetry is widely known and appreciated, though this was not always the case. In his early years of writing his poems were criticized for content and style of writing. This strongly impacted Tennyson and caused him once to cease writing for nine years. Tennyson’s childhood influenced his writing and this is often seen in many of his poems. He was regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age in poetry. He become Poet Laureate in 1850 and was appointed by Queen Victoria and served 42 years. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poetry was greatly influenced by his early childhood, best friend and religious beliefs; while his rhyme scheme was traditional; his morbid style was not popular for his time. This melancholy style of writing and use of topics of moral and intellectual beliefs of his time were especially vulnerable for later critic.

    Read More

  • Alfred Tennyson

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    Alfred Tennyson’s poems were written about happy feelings in life and how life is a gift. Tennyson’s poems before Hallam’s death were very delightful. They were known to have the effect to make the reader feel as though it is spring time. The success of his 1842 poems made Tennyson a popular poet, and in 1845 he receive...

    Read More

More about Charge of the Light Brigade

Open Document