Stanza One

Line no. Line Interpretation

1 Half a league, half a league, A league is an old way to measure distance,
Half a league onward, and it was equal to about 3 miles. So half a
league is roughly a mile and a half– the
2
brigade/battalion was
charging forward in the battlefield
3 All in the valley of Death The place where many soldiers would die
in the battle (very scary & uncertain)
4
Rode the six hundred. The exact number of soldiers was 600, riding
horses
“Forward, the Light Brigade! The captain commanded the soldiers
to move forward bravely
Note: they are called "Light" to separate
5 them from the "Heavy Brigade," another kind
of cavalry unit at the time.Tennyson's poem
is based on real events. In 1854, there was a
Charge of the Light Brigade during the
Crimean War.
6 Charge for the guns!” he said. The soldiers were ordered to attack
Into the valley of Death The soldiers moved to the battlefield,
prepared to fight and to die fighting.The
7 brigade was ordered into the valley, even
though they knew that they were going to
die.
8 Rode the six hundred. Emphasis on the small number of soldiers –
few but brave soldiers riding on horseback
Stanza Two
Line no. Line Interpretation
1 “Forward, the Light Brigade!” Again, the captain commanded the soldiers
to move forward
2 Was there a man dismayed? Was there any soldier who would lose his
courage, be terrified or sad?
Not though the soldier knew Of course the Light Brigade was too tough
and loyal to feel dismayed. These men did
3 not feel discouraged at all. They were ready
to do their job, even though the order might
be crazy (to meet their death).
Some one had blundered. The soldiers knew that this charge was not
4 a good idea, that someone had made a
mistake.
5 Theirs not to make reply, The soldiers were loyal and obedient – they
did not talk back to their commander

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 6 Theirs not to reason why, Or to figure out the point of the attack
7 Theirs but to do and die. All they could do was to ride and fight and
possibly die
8 Into the valley of Death Repetition of stanza 1 – to emphasize
courage/bravery, loyalty, commitment, duty
9 Rode the six hundred.
Stanza Three
Line no. Line Interpretation
Cannon to right of them, The soldiers were surrounded by enemy
1 cannon on their left, right and front. Bad
news for the Light Brigade – they were
actually surrounded by enemies.
2 Cannon to left of them,
3 Cannon in front of them
4 Volleyed and thundered; So the huge walls of cannon all around them
were firing and making a sound like thunder
Stormed at with shot and shell, The soldiers in the Light Brigade were being
5 shot at with bullets and big explosives fired
from the cannon - a violent, noisy,
destructive force that sounded like a storm.
Boldly they rode and well, These soldiers were not scared of the
6 gunfire. They rode bravely, confidently and
with determination. It shows us how heroic
these men were.
7 Into the jaws of Death, They were ready/willing to die of honour
8 Into the mouth of Hell ‘Hell’ – suffering and torture but the soldiers
were brave
9 Rode the six hundred. 600 brave/courageous soldiers – men of
honour

PRACTICE 1 ( VOCABULARY)

No. Word Meaning No. Word Meaning

1 league 5 volleyed
2 valley 6 charge
3 dismayed 7 boldly
4 blundered 8 jaws

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 PRACTICE 2 ( STANZA BY STANZA)

STANZA 1

1. What does the “Light Brigade” refer to?

________________________________________________________________________
2. Who said “Forward, the Light Brigade!”?
________________________________________________________________________
3. What was the order?
________________________________________________________________________
4. “Into the valley of Death”
What would happen to the men?
________________________________________________________________________

STANZA 2

1. Based on this stanza, describe the personality of the soldiers.

(i) ______________________________________________________________________
(ii) _____________________________________________________________________
(ii) _____________________________________________________________________

2. The word “Theirs” refers to

_______________________________________________________
3. What is the meaning of “blundered”?
________________________________________________________________________

STANZA 3

1. Describe the scene of the battlefield.

________________________________________________________________________
2. What “Volleyed and thundered”?
________________________________________________________________________
3. What do you think happened at the end of the poem?
________________________________________________________________________
 PRACTICE 3 ( EXAM BASED QUESTIONS)

1. In your own words, describe how the soldiers felt when they went into the battlefield.

_____________________________________________________________ [2 marks]

2. In your opinion, was it the right thing to do for the soldiers to follow the captain’s
command? Give a reason.

_____________________________________________________________ [2 marks]

3. What do you think of the captain’s command?

_____________________________________________________________ [2 marks]

4. Give two suggestions on how we should show our appreciations to those who
defend our country.
(i) ________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

(ii) ________________________________________________________ [1 mark]

THE CHARGE OF LIGHT OF BRIGADE
PRACTICE 1
No. Word Meaning No. Word Meaning
1 league Short distance / way to measure distance (in the old 5 volleyed Hit/fired/shot
days)
2 valley Low, flat land between hills/mountains / dale 6 charge Attack
3 dismayed Shocked/terrified/sad 7 boldly Bravely/courageously
4 blundered Made a serious mistake 8 jaws Lower part of your face

PRACTICE 2
STANZA 1
1. What does the “Light Brigade” refer to?
Soldiers
2. Who said “Forward, the Light Brigade!”?
The commander/captain/leader of the brigade
3. What was the order?
To attack the enemies/to move forward/to go into battle
4. “Into the valley of Death”
What would happen to the men?
They would die/they would not survive the battle

STANZA 2
1. Based on this stanza, describe the personality of the soldiers.
(i) loyal/obedient
(ii) brave/courageous
(ii) confident/determined
2. The word “Theirs” refers to the soldiers
3. What is the meaning of “blundered”?
Made a mistake

STANZA 3
1. Describe the scene of the battlefield.
The soldiers were surrounded by the enemies / the soldiers were attacked with cannon and gunshots
2. What “Volleyed and thundered”?
The cannon
3. What do you think happened at the end of the poem?
Most of the soldiers died in the battle / the soldiers lost the war / other possible answers

PRACTICE 3
1. In your own words, describe how the soldiers felt when they went into the battlefield.
They felt very brave and determined to win the war even though they were a small a group of soldiers
2. In your opinion, was it the right thing to do for the soldiers to follow the captain’s command? Give a
reason.
Yes, because it was their duty to follow their leader OR
No, because the captain’s command means that they would die in the battle.
3. What do you think of the captain’s command?
It was the right thing to do because all the soldiers were experienced OR
It was a crazy thing to do because there were only 600 soldiers to fight against so many
enemies.
4. Give two suggestions on how we should show our appreciations to those who defend our country.
We should have a special ‘Hero Day’ to honour them
We should give them a special award for their honorable deeds