Poetry Review – Alfred Lord Tennyson – The Charge Of The Light Brigade

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The events of the reckless, heroic and doomed historic Charge at the Battle Of Balaclava on October 25th 1854 are well known. A gross miscalculation by their commander, Lord Raglan, sent a 600 strong light cavalry team into the heavy artillery lines of a Russian division guarding a valley, and not against the rapidly withdrawing forces they were expecting to pursue. Despite facing slaughter, the men followed their orders to the letter. Some actually made it through the enemy lines, but many others were simply massacred in the cannon-fire that surrounded them from strategically well-placed enemy artillery. It was both a major military blunder and a famous act of bravery by the British forces, and that is what then poet Laureate Tennyson captures perfectly in his short poem, penned virtually in a single draft and rushed into print that same year’s December. Tennyson brilliantly compares the Crimean valley to the Valley Of Death in in the Old Testament Psalm 23. It remains one of the most unforgettable and greatest anti-war poems of all time, and highly critical of Raglan’s leadership (without actually naming him) while praising the valour of the brigade itself. In Britain, many pubs are named in honour of Lord Raglan, which is rather sickening considering his appalling military leadership skills. Arthur Chappell