The Charge of the Light Brigade Poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson
The Charge of the Light Brigade is a poem written by Lord Alfred Tennyson on December 2, 1854, and published December 9, 1854. The poem was inspired by the Crimean war, which Great Britain and France were heavily involved in against Russia. The poem refers to the infamous battle of Balaclava, where virtually the entire British light brigade calvary was killed while charging directly at the Russian line and defensives that were waiting, ready with heavy artillery. Throughout the war, both sides had an issue with giving correct commands and conducting the war. They dealt with massive deaths due to disease, which happened from a combination of lack of supplies, bad living conditions, lack of nutritional food, and lack of necessary clothing and protection from the elements. The charge of the British light brigade happened because of a miscommunication of an order. When the order was given by higher-ups, the information was passed down incorrectly by the chain-of-command and was misinterpreted. When the order reached Lord James Cardigan, leading commander of the British light brigade, he followed it without question and led his men to certain death. Not only did he never stop to question the absurd order and chose to charge defenselessly at the Russian line, but his men also did not question the order and followed him into a blaze of heavy artillery fire that was rained down upon them. This blunder with an order that led many British soldiers to their death, along with the unquestioned following of this order by the entire Brigade, is commonly viewed as an example of one of the most heroic and disastrous events of military conquest in the history of Great Britain. The Charge of the Light Brigade poem commemorates, idolizes, and glorifies the actions of the soldiers and Lord Cardigan. In this quote from the poem, “when can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder’d. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!” (Tennyson), we see how Tennyson is glorifying the actions of the light brigade and of the war in Crimea. Ignoring the blatantly stupid error of judgement by the commander of the light brigade and of the error in giving orders in the British army, the event is still glorified for the “heroism” that the soldiers portrayed. Another example of glorifying the event and the results of it is this quote "Plunged in the battery-smoke. With many a desparate stroke. The Russian line they broke; Then they rode back, but not. Not the six hundred" (Tennyson). We know that majority of the light brigade was wiped out and the attack was deemed unsuccessful, yet Tennyson portrays the light brigade as successful and of breaking the Russian line. In fact, they did nt even come close to breaking the Russian line. This shows how Tennyson is hyping up the event to portray Great Britain as being successful. This inability to view one's own country as unsuccessful with something shows toxic patriotism. The concept of toxic patriotism is one that has been around forever. Because the soldiers and the commander had so much pride for the war cause of Great Britain in Crimea, they will literally die without questioning anything. This shows a brainwashing that all of them were victims to. Not only was the war causing death, but it was also advancing British colonialism onto other places in the world. This is not unique to the war in Crimea, but many other wars and colonization efforts that Great Britain took a part in. This poem targeted British citizens and inspired them to honor the sacrifice those soldiers gave, all the while ignoring how they were killed for nothing. It was reviewed as such, and further spread this idea of glorifying the war in Crimea, all the way ignoring the horrors that many were going through as a result of this brainwashed mindset and toxic pride in Great Britain and its continuing war efforts. This is similar to the January 6 event of the storming of the United States Capital Building because it shows how the spreading of ideas through media and other societal information outlets can lead to terrible events that many consider to be necessary. Both the poem and the January 6 event show us toxic patriotism playing out.
Related Links:
Russian Empire First Acquires Ukraine. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/russian-empire-first-ac...
The Crimean War. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/crimean-war-6
The Charge of the Light Brigade. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/charge-light-brigade-1
2014 Russian Invasion of Crimea and Ukraine. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/2014-russian-invasion-c...
The Crimean War and its Afterlife. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/crimean-war-and-its-aft...
Mary Seacole During the Crimean War. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/historical-event-mary-s...
Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole. https://editions.covecollective.org/chronologies/literary-event-wonderfu...
Tennyson, Alfred. The Charge of the Light Brigade. The Examiner, 1854.