The Light Brigade Poems:

Tennyson and Kipling

{N. B.: This is just a short commentary on the poems, not the history. The poems are judged from a literary view.}

Lord Raglan wishes the Cavalry to advance rapidly to the

front, follow the enemy, and try to prevent the enemy carrying
away the guns. Troop Horse Artillery may accompany. French
Cavalry is on your left. Immediate.
-It was the order to Lieutenant General George Bingham, 3rd
Earl of Lucan from Field Marshal Fitzroy Somerset, 1st Baron
Raglan. The order was drafted by Brigadier Richard Airey and
carried by Captain Louis Edward Nolan. 1st Baron Raglan wanted
the light brigade to prevent the enemy from successfully
withdrawing the naval guns. The light cavalry had unarmored
horses, they could run very fast and that was considered as
enough for the men with horses and swords. But Earl of Lucan got
the information unclear and he ordered James Brudenell, 7th Earl
of Cardigan to lead his 670 troops straight into the valley between
the Fedyukhin Heights and the Causeway Heights, our valley of
death, when The opposing Russian forces are commanded
by Pavel Liprandi and included approximately 20 battalions of
infantry supported by over 50 artillery pieces. Here starts the
main tale, Charge of the Light Brigade.
The light brigade is advancing and seeing the heavy Russian
artillery half a league ahead. They all 600 are going there, into
the valley of death. The 7th Earl of Cardigan is commanding the
light brigade to forward and charge the Russian gunners. All 600
of them are rushing to the Russian camp. Nobody is dismayed or
disappointed. It is unnecessary for them to know that somebody

has severely mistaken. They are so disciplined and obedient to

the commands and so it is not theirs to make reply or to reason
why because they are to do and die. The poet is repeating rode
the six hundred. That is, not a single of them has showed their
backs in this battle. All of them are courageous enough. One more
thing is worth mentioning: in the poem we find the phrase do and
die instead of our familiar do or die. That is, it is of the Light
brigade to damage as much as possible and they are ready to
embrace death, whenever it comes. The repetition of sentences
like theirs not to is emphasizing the patriotism and obedience
of the soldiers.
Now we find the military strength of the Russian artillery. And
they start to rain fire weapons to the British army. And the next
three lines are commentary of their own:
Cannon to right of them
Cannon to left of them
Cannon in front of them.
And our brigade becomes volleyd and thunderd on account of
high frequency of their cannons. But they are not afraid. They are
dauntless. With immense courage, not with immense strength,
our heroes have started their self-suicidal voyage into the Russian
camp. The poet has compared the camp to jaws of death or with
mouth of hell. And our heroes are ready to go through the
deathly hollows.
They have reached the camp and now they have bared their
sabres or swords and they are looking bright. And they are
reflecting bright light, light of patriotism, light of obedience and
discipline, while being turned in air. Our heroes are sabring the
Russian artillery that is shedding guns on them. Cossack and
Russian army is reeled from the sabre-stroke. They are horrified,
traumatized, scattered and according to the poet shattered and

sundered. They have done a lot of damage. To be true, they

have seemed more heroic than expectations. Then they rode back
leaving the Russian artillery. Now, for the first time, the poet is
treating us with . They are riding back but not all of them.
Several have left the world forever.
And again cannon are to right and left of them. But previously
cannon are in front of them, but now cannon are behind them and
our heroes are again volleyed and thundered. Since they are
stormed with shot and shell, our horse and hero both are passing
away from this planet. They have fought better than our
imagination to come out alive from the jaws of death or mouth of
hell. Returning fellows are those, which are left of our heroic light
brigade.
The next part is, perhaps, one of the best heroic verses written in
any language and it is worth mentionable here.
When can their glory fade?
Oh, the wild charge they made!
All the world wonderd.
Honour the charge they made,
Honour the light brigade,
Noble six hundred!
The poet is sure that their glory will never fade because the wild
nature of the charge of the light brigade astonished the whole
world. He is telling all the people of the world to honour the
charge the light brigade has made. And those 600 soldiers are
absolutely aristocratic; they are the noble six hundred.
After finishing the commentary of this ultra famous poem of the
then Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, now
lets pry into afterwards. Did the six hundred have a noble life

afterwards? Unfortunately, they hadnt. Seeing their plight,

another great English poet, who eventually had his birth in the
sub continent, Rudyard Kipling wrote his poem The Last of the
Light Brigade. It was not a 1% famous of the Tennyson poem and
even it was less famous than a bundle of Kipling poems like
Recessional or Danny Devers. But it is necessary to understand
this poem in context of our global village, where everyone is for
himself. Heres the poem:
There were thirty million English who talked of England's might;
There were twenty broken troopers who lacked a bed for the night.
They had neither food nor money, they had neither service nor
trade;
They were only shiftless soldiers, the last of the Light Brigade.
They felt that life was fleeting; they knew not that art was long,
That though they were dying of famine, they lived in deathless
song.
They asked for a little money to keep the wolf from the door;
And the thirty million English sent twenty pounds and four!
They laid their heads together that were scarred and lined and grey;
Keen were the Russian sabres, but want was keener than they;
And an old Troop-Sergeant muttered, "Let us go to the man who
writes
The things on Balaclava the kiddies at school recites."
They went without bands or colours, a regiment ten-file strong,
To look for the Master-singer who had crowned them all in his song;
And, waiting his servant's order, by the garden gate they stayed,
A desolate little cluster, the last of the Light Brigade.
They strove to stand to attention, to straighen the toil-bowed back;
They drilled on an empty stomach, the loose-knit files fell slack;
With stooping of weary shoulders, in garments tattered and frayed,
They shambled into his presence, the last of the Light Brigade.

The old Troop-Sergeant was spokesman, and "Beggin' your pardon,"

he
said,
"You wrote o' the Light Brigade, sir. Here's all that isn't dead.
An' it's all come true what you wrote, sir, regardin' the mouth of hell;
For we're all of us nigh to the workhouse, an' we thought we'd call
an'
tell.
"No, thank you, we don't want food, sir; but couldn't you take an'
write
A sort of 'to be continued' and 'see next page' o' the fight?
We think that someone has blundered, an' couldn't you tell 'em
how?
You wrote we were heroes once, sir. Please, write we are starving
now."
The poor little army departed, limping and lean and forlorn.
And the heart of the Master-singer grew hot with "the scorn of
scorn."
And he wrote for them wonderful verses that swept the land like
flame,
Till the fatted souls of the English were scourged with the thing
called
Shame.
O thirty million English that babble of England's might,
Behold there are twenty heroes who lack their food to-night;
Our children's children are lisping to "honour the charge they made
"
And we leave to the streets and the workhouse the charge of the
Light Brigade!

So pathetic is Kiplings note about them. Thirty million Englishman

are proud of the fact that England won the Crimean War. But
twenty living officers are starving for want of food and shelter.

They seek help from their countrymen and thirty million men send
24 pounds only. Then they decide to go to the Master-singer
Alfred Tennyson to make him aware of the pitiable condition of the
men he has crowned in his poem. They are really going through
the jaws of death, not because of heavy Russian artillery but
because of lack of shelter and food. The old soldier requests
Tennyson to right to be continued after the poem and leave. Out
of anger, he writes wonderful verses for the eternal heroes.
However, history is not certain whether this conversation really
happened or Kipling wrote this as a metaphor.
Then Kipling requests all the people of England, whose children
recite When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made.
to stand by the side of the Light Brigade.
Similarly, we, 170 million people of Bangladesh, are proud of our
freedom fighters, by whose hard work we won the War of
Independence and got the absolute power over a banner of red
and green. Many of them martyred many of them died but many
of them are still alive. Hence it is my appeal to the people of
Bengal to stand by our heroic sons, who are no less than the light
brigade.

Sheikh Azizul Hakim

#11702028
/*The Rt. Honourable First Boy*/
Notre Dame College