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Alfred Lord Tennyson
Charge Of The Light Brigade - Poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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.
'Forward, the Light Brigade! '
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one 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.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
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.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
.
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When I read this I thought about World War I and the Battle of the Somme, as well as other pointless acts of heroism that occurred in that war. When I was in the army from 1977-81 I understood that it was possible that some day I might have to give my life for my country, but I did have reservations about dying because of pointless stupidity. If I was going to face certain death because of a stupid blunder I believe I would make reply. (Report) Reply
To honour the Lord, Alfred High School was constructed in British managed part
of the town, Rajkot India. However the charge was a military mistake, rare for
British, and learned never to play that brave game. (Report) Reply
Love this poem. We did this in school and it was very fun. (Report) Reply
Add a comment.this poem brings back a memory lane.i love it with all my heart. (Report) Reply
I love this poem a lot. (Report) Reply
Cheers for that
They lost because of a communications error (Report) Reply
another brilliant work of poetry by Lord Alfred Tennyson (Report) Reply
A fabulous poetry work of Alfred Lord Tennyson! (Report) Reply
I miss this poem so much (Report) Reply
Iron Maiden! Excellent! Seriously, check out the song the The Trooper (based entirely on this poem) on Iron Maiden's 1983 release Piece of Mind. Classic English poetry set to classic English Heavy Metal; the drums play the part of the artillery, the guitar and bass lines sound the steeds' gallop, and the vocals echo the cries of the cavalrymen. The lyrics simultaneously sum up the glory, the gore, the bravery, and the wastefulness of war that I feel Tennyson conveyed. I would like to think that Tennyson himself would appreciate this modern day pop culture interpretation of one of his most popular poems. (Report) Reply
Probably Lord Tennyson's best poem. Very well written, the rhyme scheme is nice and the story easy to understand. Overall, a beautiful poem penned with insight, a lovely piece of poetry. Thanks for sharing and Kudos. Please read my poem MANDELA - THE IMMORTAL ICON. (Report) Reply
A classic poem about the unfortunate losses that come from war. It highlights both the courage of the light brigade, and the foolishness of war. Those men, all because of a mistaken command, charged into the valley of death. The tone of the poem is one that honors those men but pulls no punches on the reality of death and war. It's not overly critical of the event itself, so to classify it as anti-war would be wrong, but it's fantastic nonetheless. (Report) Reply
Inspired me to write a bit of war poetry! A brilliant classical piece, with brilliant structure. Beyond all doubt, my favourite poem. (Report) Reply
This is my all time favourite poem (Report) Reply
The first poem I ever committed to memory. I love it. (Report) Reply