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“The Charge of the Light Brigade” was written by the English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson in response to a battle during the Crimean War (1853-1855). In this battle, a British cavalry unit—the “Light Brigade”—was commanded to charge against a Russian artillery unit.
Summary. The poem tells the story of a brigade consisting of 600 soldiers who rode on horseback into the “valley of death” for half a league (about one and a half miles). They were obeying a command to charge the enemy forces that had been seizing their guns.
On October 25, 1854, a miscommunication sent a group of British soldiers normally dispersed for duties of light reconnaissance and patrol into heavy artillery fire. This event is considered one of the biggest military mistakes ever made.
‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ by Alfred Tennyson presents the heroic battle between the English Light Brigade and the Russian army. Six hundred soldiers of the English side rode gallantly to the valley of death symbolizing the battlefield.
It was inspired by one of the greatest calamities in British military history: on October 25, 1854, the British Light Cavalry Brigade, comprising some 670 men, charged disastrously against some 25,000 Russian soldiers.
The Charge of the Light Brigade. By Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I. 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.
Complete summary of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The Charge of the Light Brigade.
The famous charge of the British light cavalry took place at the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854. This brigade was supposed to pursue a Russian artillery train but, due to miscommunication, was instead sent into a frontal assault against heavily fortified Russian defenses.
What's the moment, you ask? Well, basically, the 600 horsemen of the Light Brigade are ordered to charge forward into a valley, with guns on all sides. They do, and they meet heavy fire. When they encounter their Russian enemies, they attack them, kill some of them, and then retreat down the valley.
His poem focuses on the terrible hardships faced in old age by veterans of the Crimean War, as exemplified by the cavalry men of the Light Brigade. Its purpose was to shame the British public into offering financial assistance.
