1. Does anybody know where the Crimean war took place?
The area is now called the Ukraine and the battle took place near a town called Balaclava.

2. AO3 Context The Crimean War was a war in 1858-1866.
It was a war with Russia vs France, Britain and Turkey.
It was the first time information about war was on the television and newspapers. Lord Tennyson read about a Battle in this war in the newspaper and decided to write a poem about it.
The battle was: The Battle of Balaclava.

3. Battle of Balaclava

4. 600 men from The Charge of the Light Brigade were ordered to go down a narrow valley.
It was a mistake!
There were Russian men with cannons lined up on the valley.
150 British soldiers were killed because of this mistake and everyone at home found out.

5. Remember to count the feet to work out the metre…
‘Forward, the // Light Brigade!’
Stressed followed by two unstressed = dactyl
Each set of syllables is called a foot – two feet = dimeter
DUM-da-da DUM-da-da

6. Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward
In medias res (start in the middle of the action) reader is plunged into it.
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
Metaphor- death is inevitable
Repetition adds to the idea that that the mistake led to inevitable death.
Pronoun “he” just follow orders of whoever is in power.

7. ‘Forward the Light Brigade!’ Was there a man dismay’d?
The soldiers didn’t know someone had made a mistake sending them
Command. Make your own comment on the punctuation here
‘Forward the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Their but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred
dismayed means to lose courage. Rhetorical question means that none of the men lost hope
Even so, they had no power to question the command, or to reason it, they just had to do it and die shows how brave they were

8. Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the 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.
The structure copies a cannon to reflect how they were being hit from every angle.
Adverb “boldly” and adjective “well” puts the soldiers in a positive light.
Anaphora- repetition of “into the” across the two sentences and the metaphors of death being jaws and hell being a mouth

9. Flash’d all their sabres bare, Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an enemy, while
All the world wonder’d
Plung’d 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.
They are running at the Russians with their swords and they have injured the Russian gunners  PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!
Wondered meaning the world watched in amazement
Cossack is a Russian ally. The Light Brigade men managed to break through them and shattered and sundered them with their swords.

10. Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the 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 the six hundred
Only change to Stanza 3 is that now they are running back out the valley still being shot but from behind!
Can you find words that show us the poet is proud of the men?
Shift to a darker tone in the poem. To show us that lots of the men died in the battle.

11. O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder’d
Rhetorical question meaning what they did won’t be forgotten
Adjective “wild” shows it was a desperate battle.
When can the 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!
Anaphora of “honour the” to stress that the poem is commanding you to honour and respect them.
Lots of exclamation marks here, what is the effect of this?

12. Also, I am telling you that conflict can be __________________
Oi, you best remember wars not for the men in power like the commanders, the sergeants BUT the soldiers!
Also, I am telling you that conflict can be __________________

13. Independent 10 On your own, answer all the questions on the worksheet.
This sheet can be stapled to the poem or added to your English Literature folder.

14. Another technical term…
Anaphora: repetition of a word or words in two or more consecutive sentences Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them
What is the effect of this repetition?