REVISION

THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE Stanza 2

Word Meaning Poem Literal meaning

League An old way to measure distance. A league equals to 3 miles
Brigade A large group of soldiers that forms a unit of an army “Forward, The Light The commander repeated the command and move
Charge Attack Brigade!” forward
Dismayed Worried or scared
Blundered Made a careless mistake Was there a man Were any of the soldiers scared?
Reason To find an explanation dismayed?
Cannon A large gun on wheels Not though the None of the soldiers lost their courage even though
Volleyed Fired by a lot of bullets soldier knew they knew that someone had made a mistake.
Thundered A very loud noise Someone had
Boldly Bravely

REVISION/Prepared by: Madam Amira Suriaty Hj. Ahmad/ELP/SMKPS

blundered
Shell A metal case that is filled with explosives and fired from a large
Theirs not to make It was not the soldiers’ place to talk back to their
gun
reply, commander.
Stanza 1 Theirs not to reason It was not the soldiers’ place to question the order
why, from the commander.
Poem Literal meaning
Theirs but to do and It was their duty to carry out the command given
Half a league, half a league, The soldiers were on their horses, die even if it results in death,
Half a league onward, charging forward
Into the valley of The six hundred soldiers rode into battle even
All in the valley of Death They were moving towards the Death though they know they will end their lives.
battlefield which was frightening and
Rode the six hundred.
deadly
Rode the six hundred There were six hundred horsemen in
the brigade
“Forward, the Light Brigade! The commander of the brigade
ordered the Horsemen to move
forward
Charge for the guns!” he said The Light Brigade was ordered to
seize the enemy’s guns
Into the valley of Death The six hundred soldiers rode into
Rode the six hundred. battle even though they know they
will end their lives.

1

Stanza 3
Poem
“Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and
shell,
Literal meaning
The soldiers were surrounded by enemy
cannon from all sides. Defeat was clear for the
soldiers.
The firing of cannon all around made a
thundering sound.
Bullets and explosives were fired violently like a
storm.
Answer:
……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Reason:
.................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
[2 marks]
PRACTICE 2
(a) In stanza 1, what does 'half a league' refer to?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…
[1 mark]

REVISION/Prepared by: Madam Amira Suriaty Hj. Ahmad/ELP/SMKPS

Boldly they rode and well Despite the attacks, the soldiers rode on with a
great courage. (b) In stanza 2, who is the ‘someone’ mentioned in line 4?
Into the jaws of Death, The six hundred soldiers rode into battle even …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Into the mouth of hell though they know they will end their lives.
[1 mark]
Rode the six hundred. (c) In Stanza 2, what is the ‘blunder’ that someone made?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
PRACTICE 1 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
[1 mark]
(a) In stanza 1, how many soldiers were in the cavalry? (d) Do you believe that war is sometimes necessary? Why?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Provide a reason to support your answer.
[1 mark] Answer:
(b) In stanza 2, which word means a mistake was made? ……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………....
[1 mark] Reason:
(c) In Stanza 3, which line shows the cavalry is very courageous? .................................................................................................................
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ...............................................................................................................
[1 mark] [2 marks]
(d) Was there a man dismayed?
What other feeling would the soldiers feel before the battle?
Provide a reason to support your answer.