Happy Birthday Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The Charge Of The Light Brigade is one of my favorite poems.

[fairgambit]

The Charge of the Light Brigade

1
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.

2
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
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.

3
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and 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.

4
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 and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5
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 and 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.

6
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.

 

[mn78psu83]

The Charge of the Light Brigade

1
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.

2
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
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.

3
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and 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.

4
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 and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5
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 and 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.

6
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.

LINK: William Howard Russell's eyewitness account

 

[LionJim]

He also wrote two other fine poems which I like very much, Ulysses, and Tithonus.

 

[CF LION]

My favorite reading of this poem.

 

[fairgambit]

View embedded media

My favorite reading of this poem.

Good stuff...and that teacher is kinda hot.

 

[LionJim]

Good stuff...and that teacher is kinda hot.

All the Little Rascals teachers were hot. LOL.

 

[sluggo72]

we were about to read this in 7th grade, the teacher got called to the principal's office , left us alone and we were to read this on our own. Well all hell broke out among the 7th graders, no one read it, the teacher was ticked, gave us a quiz on it, we all failed, and no one every did get to read this!! She ruined the whole experience.

 

[fairgambit]

we were about to read this in 7th grade, the teacher got called to the principal's office , left us alone and we were to read this on our own. Well all hell broke out among the 7th graders, no one read it, the teacher was ticked, gave us a quiz on it, we all failed, and no one every did get to read this!! She ruined the whole experience.

Well, you read it now. In a few days I will give you a UNC style quiz on it and you will get an A+ and you will then have happy memories about it evermore.

 

[therod]

Well, you read it now. In a few days I will give you a UNC style quiz on it and you will get an A+ and you will then have happy memories about it evermore.

"Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all" Maybe that what inspired the Bee Gee's lol (How Do You Mend A Broken Heart)

 

[eloracv]

He also wrote two other fine poems which I like very much, Ulysses, and Tithonus.

Ulysses is one of my favorite poems - "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

 

[LionJim]

Ulysses is one of my favorite poems - "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

Yes, indeed. Glorious.

 

[LionJim]

Ulysses is one of my favorite poems - "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

"Old age has yet his honour and his toil.
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
...Come, my friends,
Tis' not too late to seek a newer world."

 

[eloracv]

He also wrote two other fine poems which I like very much, Ulysses, and Tithonus.

"Old age has yet his honour and his toil.
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
...Come, my friends,
Tis' not too late to seek a newer world."

Love this poem - have most of it memorized...

 

[Chris97]

This poem is the inspiration for my favorite Iron Maiden song, "The Trooper". \m/