Charge of the light brigade + Bayonet charge

COTLB - summary

• The poem recounts an event during the Crimean War, in which a British cavalry unit charged directly into enemy fire

• Tennyson glorifies the bravery, loyalty, and sacrifice of the soldiers, even as they face almost certain death

COTLBG - context

• Tennyson wrote the poem about the disastrous COTLB at the Battle of Balaclava (1854) during the Crimean War where the British cavalry bravely charged against Russian troops despite the devastatingly unlikely odds of survival. Tennyson wrote the poem to honour the soldiers' bravery

• As Poet Laureate, Tennyson’s role was to celebrate national events and this poem reflects that duty, turning a military disaster into a noble act of British heroism. Written as jingoistic propaganda

COTLB - form + structure

• Ballad-like structure - the poem uses a strong, regular rhythm and a narrative form, echoing traditional heroic storytelling. This form elevates the Charge to the status of national legend, reinforcing the idea that the soldiers’ actions should be remembered and honoured

• Dactylic dimetre (one stressed and two unstressed syllables) - this mimics the sound and pace of cavalry charging into battle, immersing the reader in the relentless momentum and urgency of the scene

• Irregular Rhyming Scheme - the variation reflects the chaos and fragmentation of war, suggesting that even in structured heroism, disorder and death are inescapable

“Storm’d at with shot and shell”

• Sibilance - the repeated 's' sounds in “shot” and “shell” mimic the sharp, whistling sounds of artillery fire. This heightens the sensory experience of warefare and violence

• Violent Imagery - the verb “storm’d” evokes a sense of relentless assault, portraying the battlefield as chaotic and inescapable, heightening the soldiers’ vulnerability. This emphasises both the brutality of warfare and the soldiers’ helplessness against the scale of destruction

“Cannon to right of them, / Cannon to left of them, / Cannon in front of them”

• Anaphora - the repeated phrase “Cannon…”, at the beginning of each line creates a relentless, drumbeat-like rhythm that mirrors the soldiers’ entrapment and the inescapable nature of the enemy fire

• Triadic Structure - the listing of three directions, right, left, and front, builds a sense of complete encirclement, emphasising the soldiers’ bravery in the face of hopeless odds and the claustrophobic danger of the battlefield

“While horse and hero fell / They fought so well”

• Alliteration - the repetition of the ‘h’ sound, in “horse and hero” softens the rhythm, lending the line a mournful tone that romanticises their sacrifice

• Euphemism - the use of the verb “fell” acts as a euphemism for death, sanitising the violence of battle and framing their demise as noble and honourable

• This aligns with the poem’s patriotic aim to memorialise the soldiers without dwelling on the horror of their end

“Came thro’ the jaws of Death” ‘mouth of hell’

• Personification - presents death as predatory and inevitable, heightening the sense of inescapable danger and making the soldiers’ courage seem more heroic

• Metaphor of ‘jaws’- death is likened to a monstrous mouth, implying that the soldiers are being swallowed, stripped of individuality in the face of mass mortality

• This imagery highlights the inevitability and horror of war’s outcome, while reinforcing the bravery of those who attacked

Bayonet charge - summary

• The poem depicts disorientation, showing a soldier’s chaotic, dehumanising experience of battle

Bayonet charge - context

• Hughes, shaped by his father’s WWI trauma, explored war’s violence and psychological scars

• The poem was greatly inspired by the works of Wilfred Owen and both poets aimed to depict the brutal realities of war rather than glorifying combat

Bayonet charge - form + structure

• Free verse - this mirrors the volatile (unstable) experience of war, reflecting the soldier’s unstable mental and physical state as he stumbles through fear and confusion

• Irregular line lengths - include abrupt, fragmented lines which reflect the breakdown of thought and identity

• In media res - launches immediately into the soldier’s charge without introduction or background. This technique immerses the reader in urgency and disorientation, echoing the suddenness of combat and the soldier’s instinctive, panicked reaction

“Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest”

• Simile - suggests extreme heat and pressure, reflecting the soldier’s intense panic and physical strain as he runs across the battlefield

• “Iron” traditionally symbolises strength, weapons, and patriotic duty, implying that he initially believes he is fuelled by heroic purpose

• However, “molten” suggests iron that has been melted and destabilised, symbolising how the soldier’s patriotic beliefs are breaking down under the reality of war

“Cold clockwork”

• Alliteration - the harsh ‘c’ sounds creates a mechanical and unforgiving tone, emphasising the inhuman nature of war

• Metaphor of “Clockwork” - implies that their lives are like cogs in a machine, forced to follow orders without individuality or control

• Hughes therefore presents war as dehumanising, where soldiers lose their identity, becoming instruments of conflict rather than heroic individuals

“King, honour, human dignity, etcetera”

• Asyndetic Listing - creates a rushed tone, reducing patriotic ideas to hollow, mechanical abstractions

• Dismissal Tone - the abrupt addtion of “etcetera” creates a dismissive tone, showing that the soldier has grown disillusioned with the political rhetoric that once motivated him, powerful ideals are rendered meaningless in the reality of violence

“Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame”

• Simile - “like a flame” connects the hare’s frantic movement to fire, a symbol of destruction, chaos, and the uncontrollable spread of violence on the battlefield. The fire imagery suggests how war spreads rapidly and uncontrollably, mirroring the soldier’s panic and the wider devastation of conflict

• Violent Imagery - The violent verb “threw up” injects aggression into the description of a natural creature, showing how war violently disturbs the natural world. The hare, typically a symbol of innocence and vulnerability in nature, becomes a terrified casualty of the battlefield, showing how war harms not only soldiers but also the natural world