‘The  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade’,  by  Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson  
Lesson  plan  
 
Introduction  
 
What  wars  has  Great  Britain  fought  in?  Were  all  of  these  wars  popular?    
 
Development  
 
1)  Reading  the  poem  –  Distribute  the  poem  (available  below  with  footnotes,  
and  in  a  separate  PDF  without  footnotes).  Students  read  it  individually,  then  
aloud  as  a  class  several  times.    
 
Read  the  poem  aloud  in  different  ways.  For  example,  students  could  read  one  
stanza  each,  or  one  line  each.  Or,  different  students  could  be  given  repeating  
lines  to  read.    
 
2)  Understanding  the  poem  –  Ask  students  the  following  questions,  having  
them  cite  line(s)  of  the  poem  to  justify  their  answers:    
 
-­‐ Did  the  Light  Brigade  have  far  to  ride  to  reach  the  enemy?  
-­‐ How  many  soldiers  were  in  the  Light  Brigade?      
-­‐ Was  the  Light  Brigade’s  mission  dangerous?    
-­‐ Was  this  conflict  a  major  global  event,  or  of  minor  importance?    
-­‐ What  weapon  did  the  Light  Brigade  use  against  the  enemy?  What  
weapon(s)  did  the  enemy  use  against  them?    
-­‐ Who  were  the  Light  Brigade  fighting?    
-­‐ Was  the  attack  a  success?    
-­‐ Does  the  speaker  think  the  Light  Brigade  were  brave?    
 
3)  Understanding  the  poem  –  Identify  the  line(s)  in  which  line  the  speaker  does  
the  following:  
 
-­‐ Suggests  that  somebody  has  ordered  the  attack  by  mistake  
-­‐ Says  that  the  soldiers  of  the  Light  Brigade  had  no  choice  but  to  obey  
-­‐ Captures  the  fact  that  the  Light  Brigade  was  surrounded  
-­‐ Describes  the  moment  the  Light  Brigade  reached  and  engaged  the  enemy  
 
4)  Structure  –  Tennyson  was  inspired  to  write  this  poem  after  reading  an  account  
of  the  battle  in  a  newspaper.  To  what  extent  does  the  structure  of  his  poem  
resemble  a  newspaper  article?    
 
Imagine  you  were  writing  a  story  about  this  event  for  a  newspaper.  What  would  
your  headline  be  if  you  were  in  favour  of  the  war?  What  would  your  headline  be  if  
you  were  against  the  war?  
 
5)  Interpretation  –  Why  does  Tennyson  not  make  more  of  the  fact  that  someone  
may  have  ‘blundered’  in  ordering  the  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade?    

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6)  Interpretation  –  Why  does  Tennyson  evoke  Psalm  23,  verse  4?  What  is  the  
effect  of  his  repetition  of  this  image?    
   

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The  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  

by  Alfred,  Lord  Tennyson  
 
I  
Half  a  league1,  half  a  league,  
Half  a  league  onward,  
All  in  the  valley  of  Death2  
Rode  the  six  hundred.  
“Forward,  the  Light  Brigade3!  
Charge  for  the  guns!”  he  said.  
Into  the  valley  of  Death  
Rode  the  six  hundred.  
 
II  
“Forward,  the  Light  Brigade!”  
Was  there  a  man  dismayed?  
Not  though  the  soldier  knew  
Someone  had  blundered.  
Theirs  not  to  make  reply,  
Theirs  not  to  reason  why,  
Theirs  but  to  do  and  die.  
Into  the  valley  of  Death  
Rode  the  six  hundred.  
 
III  
Cannon  to  right  of  them,  
Cannon  to  left  of  them,  
Cannon  in  front  of  them  
Volleyed  and  thundered;  
Stormed  at  with  shot  and  shell,  
Boldly  they  rode  and  well,  
Into  the  jaws  of  Death,  
Into  the  mouth  of  hell  
Rode  the  six  hundred.  
 
IV  
Flashed  all  their  sabres4  bare,  
Flashed  as  they  turned  in  air  
Sabring  the  gunners  there,  
Charging  an  army,  while  
All  the  world  wondered.  
                                                                                                               
1  A  former  measure  of  distance  by  land.  One  league  =  approx.  three  miles  
2  Compare  to  Psalm  23,  verse  4:  “Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  

shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil:  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  
they  comfort  me.”  
3  A  cavalry  unit  designed  for  small  skirmishes  and  counter  attacks,  rather  than  

frontal  assaults  such  as  the  poem  describes.  

4  A  heavy  cavalry  sword  with  a  curved  blade  and  a  single  cutting  edge.  

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Plunged  in  the  battery-­‐smoke  

Right  through  the  line  they  broke;  
Cossack5  and  Russian6  
Reeled  from  the  sabre  stroke  
Shattered  and  sundered7.  
Then  they  rode  back,  but  not  
Not  the  six  hundred.  
 
V  
Cannon  to  right  of  them,  
Cannon  to  left  of  them,  
Cannon  behind  them  
Volleyed  and  thundered;  
Stormed  at  with  shot  and  shell,  
While  horse  and  hero  fell.  
They  that  had  fought  so  well  
Came  through  the  jaws  of  Death,  
Back  from  the  mouth  of  hell,  
All  that  was  left  of  them,  
Left  of  six  hundred.  
 
VI  
When  can  their  glory  fade?  
O  the  wild  charge  they  made!  
All  the  world  wondered.  
Honour  the  charge  they  made!  
Honour  the  Light  Brigade,  
Noble  six  hundred!  
 

                                                                                                               
5  A  member  of  a  people  of  Ukraine  and  southern  Russia.  
6  The  Charge  of  the  Light  brigade  was  part  of  a  battle  in  the  Crimean  War  of  

1854,  in  which  Great  Britain,  France  and  the  Ottoman  Empire  fought  The  Russian  
Empire  for  control  of  the  Crimean  peninsula  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  other  
territories.  
7  Split  apart  

©  Education  Umbrella,  2016