"Before 1914, poems of war had been few and idyllic. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, which is quoted in the play is one well known example. The poem describes the courage of the British cavalrymen involved in a charge in October of 1854, during the Crimean War, a war between England and Russia. This dramatic poem venerates the “six hundred” British soldiers, and romanticizes the battle. It’s portrayal of war encouraged the character, Charlie, and young men like him to enlist in the Great War. However, there is much to take into consideration while reading Charge of the Light Brigade.

Tennyson was a descendant of England’s King Edward III and attended at Trinity College in Cambridge. In 1850 he was appointed England’s poet laureate. A poet laureate is offi­cially appointed by a government and expected to compose poems for state occasions and in sup­port of government actions. The Charge of the Light Brigade was just such a poem. Poems like this were a form of propaganda. Tennyson sup­posedly wrote the poem after reading an account of the battle in The Times. Tennyson himself never fought in a war. The poem became very popular, and remained a classic piece of English literature. By the turn of the century, when Charlie and Mary were in school, it was easy to forget that the real Charge of Light Brigade had been a disaster in which 118 British soldiers were killed.

Tennyson wrote in his poem that for the soldiers of the Light Brigade “Theirs not to reason why,/Theirs but to do & die.” Such blind obedience might be considered patriotic and heroic in time of war, however, this “do and die” attitude can also be the mark of people who are not educated enough to voice a dissenting opinion. The com­mon cavalryman of the Light Brigade did not leave a record of his feelings about war. However, by 1914 the combination of compulsory school­ing and cheap printing (both developments of the late 19th century) greatly increased the lit­eracy rate around the world. In a war with long, uneventful periods of entrenchment, thousands of educated soldiers took up their pens.

Many soldiers used their spare time in the trenches to write poems or make sketches. A huge number wrote long letters home or kept a diary. They expressed a vast range of opinions and beliefs about the war. Some soldiers were even more xenophobic and nationalistic than any propaganda back home. Many thought that the war would end very quickly. Some were opposed to the war. As the war dragged on and became more deadly and horrifying, these critical voices became increasingly vocal in their disapproval. One dissenter was Wilfred Owen, a British soldier who wrote graphic poetry about the hor­rors of trench and gas warfare. Two of his most famous poems are Dulce Et Decorum Est and Anthem for Doomed Youth. Owen’s greatest influence was his friend and fellow soldier-poet Siegfried Loraine Sassoon. Sassoon’s realistic poem Counter-Attack ends with the explicit statement “the counter-attack had failed”, mak­ing it a perfect foil to the Charge of the Light Brigade, where loss was not acknowledged."

The Charge Of The Light Brigade

by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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 dismay’d ? Not tho’ the soldier knew Some one had blunder’d: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do & 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 Volley’d & thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare, Flash’d as they turn’d in air Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army while All the world wonder’d: Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro’ the line they broke; Cossack & Russian Reel’d from the sabre-stroke,Shatter’d & sunder’d. Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, While horse & hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro’ 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 wonder’d. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!

War Cemetery, Belgian village Woesten

Anthem for Doomed Youth

(1917) by Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?

Only the monstrous anger of the guns.

Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle

Can patter out their hasty orisons.

No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,

Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—

The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;

And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?

Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes

Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.

The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;

Their flowers the tenderness of silent maids,

And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.