The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Lord Tennyson, Alfred. "The Charge of the Light Brigade." Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45319/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” was written by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson in 1854 and first published in The Examiner. Alfred, Lord Tennyson is one of the best-known poets in English Literature. He lived during Queen Victoria’s reign – what is known as the Victorian era, occupying much of the nineteenth century – and was appointed Poet Laureate in his lifetime. Many lines from his poetry have filtered into idiomatic usage, such as “Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all”. His work deals with a broad range of themes, drawing inspiration from mythology, medieval legend, nature, domesticity, and friendship.

“The Charge of the Light Brigade” was conceived by Tennyson in response to the Battle of Bataclava during the Crimean War, in which the Light Brigade Cavalry suffered major casualties when they charged against heavily defended Russian troops. Tennyson’s poem presents the six hundred soldiers’ gallantry, bravery, and heroism as they rode into the battlefield despite certain death, while at the same time indicting the disastrous, poorly planned instructions issued by their commanders. The poem, as a whole, valorizes and honors these soldiers for their patriotism in times of war, and laments the needless loss of life.