![]() ![]() In the earliest published version of this poem, printed in the London Examiner on December 9, 1853, the command to charge forward was attributed to Lord Nolan, a well-known military figure of the time. The phrase “Valley of Death” refers to an episode of John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress and to Psalm 23 from the Old Testament of the Bible: in both of these sources, faith makes people brave when they are faced with death. ![]() (As the poem soon makes clear, the six hundred cavalrymen of the Light Brigade were aware of this themselves.) The poem suggests that it is these moments before the battle has begun that are the Brigade’s greatest glory. The audiences of the time of the poem would have been familiar with the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, upon which the poem is based, and would have known from the beginning that they were charging to their own doom. A “league” is approximately three miles long: charging horses could cover half a league in a few minutes. The beginning lines of the poem throw the reader into the centre of action, with a rousing chant that drives the reader, both in its description and in its galloping rhythm, toward the battle. I hope they help.Įxplanation: “The Charge of the Light Brigade” In teaching it, I trawled somewhere I cannot remember now and ended up with these notes. I used to teach it to year 8 and get them to read it, discuss it and then write a 50 word poem called THE BATTLE. ![]() This has to be one of my favourite poems ever written. ![]()
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