Hello, everyone.

And welcome to your lesson on analysing the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade." I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

I'm really looking forward to learning with you today.

Our learning outcome is to be able to explore how Tennyson uses language and structure to powerfully express his messages about conflict.

Our three key words are patriotic.

Patriotic means showing love and devotion to your country.

Refrain: a refrain is a short part of a poem that is repeated.

And allusion: allusion is a reference to a well-known character or event to deepen the reader's understanding.

I'll give you a moment to pause the video and note down those keywords now.

Off you go.

Well done.

Keep an eye out for those keywords throughout the lesson.

They're going to help us analyse the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade." So, in today's poem, we are going to start off by exploring the poem structure.

That's the way the text was organised.

So we're going to look at how Tennyson structured or organised this poem and why.

And in the second learning cycle we're going to write about the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade." So let's start off with exploring the poem structure.

Open your anthology and read the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" aloud.

We can do that together.

"Half a league, half a league, half a league onward.

All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade.

Charge for the guns!' He said.

Into the valley of death Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!' Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew someone had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply.

Theirs not to reason why.

Theirs but to do and die.

Into the valley of death Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them.

Cannon to left of them.

Cannon in front of them.

Volleyed and thundered; stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well.

Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell Rode the six hundred.

Flashed all their sabres bare, flashed as they turned in air.

Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while all the world wondered.

Plunged in the battery-smoke.

Right through the line they broke.

Cossack and Russian Reeled from the sabre stroke Shattered and sundered.

Then they rode back, but not not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon behind them volleyed and thundered.

Stormed at with shot and shell, while horse and hero fell.

They that had fought so well came through the jaws of death.

Back from the mouth of hell, all that was left of them, left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered.

Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade.

Noble six hundred!" I now want you to discuss what did you notice about the rhythm and pace of that poem as as we read aloud.

Pause the video and discuss it now.

The poems distinct rhythm comes from its use of dactylic dimeter.

This means each line contains two dactyls tools.

One stress syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

That looks a bit like this.

"Forward the Light Brigade.

Was there a dismayed? Not though the soldier knew.

Someone had blundered.

Theirs not to make reply.

Theirs not to reason why.

Theirs but to do and die.

The dactylic diameter gives the poem a rhythm like this, "Dumb di di dum di di Dumb di di dum di di dum." What does this rhythm remind you of? Pause the video and discuss with your partner now.

So that rhythm, "Dumb di di dum di di.

Dumb di di dum di di dum." Evokes the evokes the idea of horses galloping in most people's minds as they read this poem.

And potentially that was purposeful from Tennyson because of course this poem depicts the cavalry, which is the British army on horseback, charging in to the battle.

Potentially, Tennyson wants us to have this feeling of a horse scalloping as we read so that we can position ourselves in the poem with the British soldiers.

So now I want you to discuss, why do you think Tennyson would want to use dactylic dimeter in the poem? Why do you think Tennyson wants to create that beat in the poem? Pause the video and discuss that now.

Here are some of the ideas that the Oak pupils had.

Aisha says, "It gives the poem an unrelenting rhythm reflecting the inevitability of the soldier's fate." Jacob says, "It echoes the forceful sound of horses galloping making this a patriotic, proud, and passionate poem." And Andeep says, "It positions the reader in the battle with the soldiers, and so helps them empathise with their plight." Now, all the Oak students have really brilliant ideas and we could use all of them in our answers.

What we're trying to say here is that there is no right or wrong answer to the reason Tennyson used dactylic dimeter.

Whatever your interpretation is is valid.

Let's now look at which line breaks the dactylic diameter in this poem.

Pause the video and have a think about which line breaks the dactylic diameter.

In other words, which line does not contain two dactyls? Which line does not contain one stress syllable followed by two stress syllables, and then another stress syllable.

Again, followed by two unstressed syllables.

Which line does not follow that pattern? Have a think about that.

Pause the video and have a think.

The line someone had blundered does not follow the dactyl diameter.

We know this because while someone had is one stress syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

The word blundered is only two syllables.

It's one stressed and one unstressed rather than one stress and two unstressed like the other lines.

Why might Tennyson have chosen to break the dactylic diameter in the line "Someone had blundered"? Pause the video and have a think.

Tennyson may have wanted to draw our attention to the military error made by the commanding officer.

Remember, he was poet direct, so he had to do this in a subtle way.

If Tennyson had explicitly criticised the commanding officer, and had said what a fool they are, what a silly error they made and how they should be punished.

Tennyson may have been met with criticism, especially because in his role as poet laureate, he could have been seen as having a national duty to report favourably on the British army.

Explicitly criticising the commanding officer may have lost Tennyson readers and reputation.

By Tennyson breaking the dactyl diameter in the line "Someone had blundered." He draws our attention in a very subtle way to this error and potentially criticises it, but in a very subtle way in which no one would criticise him for doing.

Now, I want you to answer this question.

Check your understanding of what we've just read.

Which metre is the poem written in, iambic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter, or dactylic diameter? Pause the video and answer that question now.

The poem is written mostly in dactylic diameter.

Remember, this is when a line contains two dactyls.

Meaning one stress syllable followed by two unstressed syllables and another stress syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Remember we said that this gives the poem a dumb di di dum di di dumb build to it, and that is reflective potentially of a horse scalloping, and maybe Tennyson structured the poem in this way, deliberately.

Remember how we said the line someone had blundered actually breaks from the dactylic diameter potentially to reflect Tennyson drawing attention to that military error and subtly criticising it.

I now want you to answer the following questions to further explore the structure of this poem.

Here are your questions.

First one, in your own words, why do you think Tennyson used dactylic dimeter? Second, how many stanzas are there? How does this link to the British cavalry in the Battle of Balaclava? Why do you think Tennyson chose to create a sixth stanza poem? The poem also contains a refrain.

What part of the poem do you consider the refrain? Why do you think Tennyson decided to make this part of the poem the refrain? Pause the video and answer those five questions now.

I hope that's enhanced your understanding of the structure of this poem.

Let's go through some ideas.

There are several reasons why Tennyson may have used dactylic dimeter.

It gives the poem unrelenting rhythm, reflecting the inevitability of a soldier's fate.

It echoes the forceful sound of horses galloping, making this a patriotic, proud, and passionate poem.

And it positions the reader in the battle with the soldiers and so helps them empathise with their plight.

All ideas are valid as well as any others that you came up with.

Number two, there are six stanzas in this poem, which could link to the six hundred men that fought in this battle? Number three, perhaps using six stanzas helps Tennyson further memorialise the soldiers as each stanza acts as a memorial for 100 soldiers.

The refrain is arguably into the valley of death and rode the six hundred because these lines are repeated throughout the poem.

And why did Tennyson use those lines as the refrain? Perhaps Tennyson uses the refrain into the valley of death to emphasise the inevitability of the tragedy as the soldiers had no escape.

He may use the refrain rose the six hundred to emphasise how large the loss of life in this tragedy was.

Another interpretation is to ensure that people reading the poem for generations to come, were mostly reminded of the bravery of the British cavalry.

So if you think about it like this, the lies that Tennyson repeats are the ones that become most memorable to the reader.

Tennyson wants this poem to be essentially a memorial for the British soldiers.

So he's going to make the lines that reflect their bravery, and make us think about those soldiers the most memorable.

Well done answering those questions.

Let's move on now to writing about the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade." Let's explore now the language in the poem.

How is the battlefield described in stanza one to five? Pause video and discuss that now.

Stanza one to five emphasises the threat and brutality of the battlefield, and the inevitability of death.

We see that in these quotes.

Stanza one says, "Into the valley of death." Stanza two again, "Into the valley of death." Stanza three, "Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell." Stanza five, "Came through the jaws of death back from the mouth of hell." So we see here how in Stanza one to five, the brutality, and threats, and inevitability of death is very much emphasised.

I now want you to discuss how the final stanza is different from those that proceed it.

And why might Tennyson have ended the poem in this way? So here's the final stanza.

"When can their glory fade? O, the wild charge they made! All the world wondered.

Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!" How is that different from the previous stanzas? Pause the video and discuss now.

The final stanza focuses on glory, heroism, and bravery.

Tennyson as poet laureate may have wanted the final message of the poem to be clear, the bravery of the Light Brigade is the most important part of the tale.

So whilst the Light Brigade did suffer in this battle, whilst they were met with brutality threats, and whilst they did face an inevitable death, Tennyson does not want the soldiers to be remembered in that way.

Tennyson wants the soldiers to be remembered for their honour, for their bravery, and through their dedication to the British public.

Of course, as poet laureate, Tennyson may have had a duty to portray this side of the battle as he was appointed this role by the monarch.

Let's go back to stanza one to five.

What do you notice about the language in all of these quotes? Pause the video and have a little think now.

Tennyson personifies death making it appear like a monstrous threat to create a sense of foreboding, emphasising the vicious attack the soldiers faced.

This is then compounded by the poignant reminder that someone had blundered.

There is also another interpretation of the quote, "Valley of death." This quote comes from Psalm 23 in the Bible.

Let's read it though.

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." This quote from the Bible refers to the protection that God offers.

So why might Tennyson have chosen to elude this biblical quotes in his poem about the Battle of Balaclava and its military blunder? Pause the video and consider that really complex question, now.

The biblical illusion brings a sense of irony to the poem as the commanders did not fulfil their duty of protecting the cavalry.

So in the Bible, God did protect his men.

And that quote from the Bible reflects that.

Tennyson almost subverts the true meaning of the quote because the soldiers in battle were not protected.

This could be Tennyson's way of criticising those in power, criticising that they failed their duty to protect the British soldiers.

Now, let's answer this question to check what we've just discussed.

What does Tennyson allude to in the poem, the Bible, Greek mythology, the Battle of Hastings or the Torah? Pause the video and have a think.

Well, then, if you said Tennyson alludes to the Bible in his poem "Charge of the Light Brigade." He alludes to the quote from Psalm 23, "Though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death." Why might Tennyson have made the biblical allusion to Psalm 23? Pause the video and have a think.

Tennyson may have made the biblical allusion to Psalm 23 to criticise the commanding officers.

Remember in Psalm 23, God protects the vulnerable.

In the Battle of Balaclava, the soldiers did not face the same protection from the commanding officers.

And Tennyson potentially is criticising that.

I now want you to plan and write two paragraphs answering the following question.

How does Tennyson present conflict in the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade?" The way you're going to plan this response is by using a single paragraph outline for both paragraphs.

Every single paragraph outline needs a topic sentence.

This is where you directly answering the question, giving a brief initial idea, supporting details.

Supporting details section is where your copy up to four key quotations and make notes on the language, structural, and form analysis.

And finally, every plan needs a concluding sentence where you'll summarise everything you've covered in the paragraph, remembering to link back to the question and give a final idea.

Your vocabulary bank for these two paragraphs is on the right, you have a euphemistic, dactylic diameter, refrain, glorification, ballad, memorialise, allusions, poet laureate, and criticise.

So pause the video now.

And plan and write your two paragraphs answering that question there.

Off you go.

Great effort with your writing there.

You've really dug deep into that poem.

I now want you to read for your answer and give yourself a what went well and even better if.

Use the following questions to guide your self assessment.

Did you begin with Tennyson's ideas? Choose appropriate quotations.

Explore the language structure and form in detail, and link back to the question.

Pause the video now and self-assess your work.

Brilliant job.

Remember for structure, you could have talked about Tennyson's use of dactylic diameter.

For form, you could have talked about Tennyson's choice of the ballad form and how he used that form to compliment his depiction of the Battle of Balaclava.

And you could have also talked about the way he discusses the battle with monstrous and violent imagery.

Here's what we've learned today.

The poem is written in dactylic diameter, which echoes the forceful sound of horses galloping.

The ballad contains a refrain which could highlight the inevitability or scale of the tragedy.

Tennyson personifies death to create a sense of foreboding, emphasising the vicious attack the soldier's faced.

Tennyson alludes to Psalm 23, perhaps to criticise those in power who did not fulfil their duty to protect.

And the semantic field changes from that danger and death to that of honour, bravery, and heroism in the final that stands up.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.

I hope you've been able to successfully analyse the poem "Charge of the Light Brigade" with me today.

I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.