Charge of the Light Brigade

[Laura K (NC)]

This is the poem that has the lines,

"Theirs not to make reply

Theirs not to reason why

Theirs but to do and die..."

 

I found the poet himself, Alfred Lord Tennyson, reciting the poem here.What's extra neat about it is that it is a recording by Thomas Edison.

 

There is historical background to the poem at Wikipedia here.The British brigade charge was made during the Crimean War.

 

This poem will appeal to boys, I think, especially if they read at Wiki that several rock bands have set the charge to music.

 

One other neat thing about this poem is that it is easy to analyze. I had my son write the poem out, then underline all the repetition in red (there's a lot), all the alliterations in blue, and the personification in yellow.

 

Here are some more questions I asked him:

Where does the line "into the valley of death" come from? (Ps. 23... understanding the psalm helps the reader to realize that these soldiers rode into the hopeless circumstance without fear.)

 

Why does he keep mentioning "the six hundred?" (to emphasize how small the group was, and the terrible odds of their actually surviving.

 

Why does Tennyson repeat "half a league, half a league, half a league?"

(sounds like the hoofbeats of a calvary)

 

One last history tie-in... The "lady with the lamp," Florence Nightingale, was a nurse in this war.

[Laura K (NC)]

wouldn't it be neat if each of us took a poem and analyzed it, or found some sources that analyzed it and summarized it into a single post, and we put them all together? I don't do as much as I need to in this regard, and it sure would be a nice help to have a deep analysis, like a lesson plan, for many different poems.

[LisaNY]

When I saw your subject line, I could not help but laugh. All I could think of was Alfalfa from The Little Rascals reciting this poem.

 

Am I dating myself, here? Does anyone else remember this episode?

[Jugglin'5]

I taught a boys' poetry class in my co-op this year,and this was one of their favorites. I would let them recite it outside then charge! across the lawn. They had a great time pretending to get shot or stabbed, fall off their horses, and play dead or wounded. Maybe it should have been called a drama class as well.:D

[percytruffle]

Thanks so much for the link to the reading of the poem. Ds will be thrilled! I just e-mail him the link. That poem is one of his favorites.

[carolinagirl710]

I would love to hear which poems you chose for your class. The boys I teach would welcome the input.

 

Thanks,

Elaine in PA

[Jugglin'5]

We also did Sea Fever, parts of Horatius at the Bridge, In Flanders Fields, and the "Once More into the Breach" passage from Henry V. We also did some fun poems out of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, some funny Hilaire Belloc poems, and Scintillate, Scintillate Globule Vivific. HTH

[MountainViewMom]

When I saw your subject line, I could not help but laugh. All I could think of was Alfalfa from The Little Rascals reciting this poem.

 

Am I dating myself, here? Does anyone else remember this episode?

 

Funny you should ask. I was sharing the audio with my husband and he said all he could think of was Alfalfa in The Little Rascals reciting this poem with firecrackers going off as he recited it! :lol:

[MountainViewMom]

This is the poem that has the lines,

"Theirs not to make reply

Theirs not to reason why

Theirs but to do and die..."

 

I found the poet himself, Alfred Lord Tennyson, reciting the poem here.What's extra neat about it is that it is a recording by Thomas Edison.

 

 

Thanks, Laura. We need all the help with poetry we can get. I am going to use this with my boys!

[Laura K (NC)]

I just pulled out of a co-op where the middle school group was entirely composed of boys. I think they would have loved a class like that.

[greenwillow]

Ds LOVED this poem, and also "If", by Kipling....... :)