![]() ![]() In the poem, Tennyson tells the story of the charge with vivid language and imagery. The battle lasted only a few minutes but it was enough for the British to realize they were up against an enemy who was not to be taken lightly. Although outnumbered, the Russians managed to hold their ground until further reinforcements arrived from the main army near Sebastopol. ![]() The Charge of the Light Brigade occurred just after midday when Major General William Russell's VI Corps attacked the Turkish position at Balaklava. The poem became so popular that it was set to music by Edward Elgar and Henry Wood. Alfred, Lord Tennyson immortalized the suicidal attack in his 1855 poem of the same name. 13, Old Style) was a devastating British cavalry charge against highly entrenched Russian soldiers at the Battle of Balaklava (1854). What is the story behind the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade"?ĭuring the Crimean War (1853–56), the Attack of the Light Brigade (Oct. He calls them "fools" and "madmen" which really means that they were stupid enough to put themselves in such danger when there was an easier way to solve the problem.īut despite these negative comments, it can be argued that The Charge of the Light Brigade shows how much respect Tennyson has for actual heroes because he not only remembers their good deeds but also praises them even though they are very few compared to the number of men who fought against them. Before The Charge of the Light Brigade, poets often wrote about heroic battles but never about ordinary soldiers fighting on both sides.įurthermore, Tennyson makes no attempt to hide his opinion of the men who fought in the charge. It is also regarded as one of the first realistic battles poems. The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of the most famous poems in the English language because it expresses in words what many people felt in their hearts after this terrible battle: pity and shame for the men who had been so foolish as to fight each other when they should have been fighting the enemy. ![]() Britain and France were at war with Russia at the time, battling for control of Crimea (the same territory that Russia just controversially re-occupied)-hence the term "The Crimean War." In 1854, Tennyson was inspired to write The Charge of the Light Brigade after reading a newspaper story on the Battle of Balaclava. ![]()
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