Read the passage to answer the question that follows.

Which of the follow historical facts most likely influenced Alfred, Lord Tennyson's decision to celebrate the cavalry soldiers rather than criticize the commanding officers who ordered their charge?

Tennyson's role as Poet Laureate
the Crimean War
the reign of Queen Victoria

POEM:
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.
II
"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.
III
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.
IV
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.
V
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.
VI
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!

This poem was written several weeks after a disastrous engagement during the Crimean War. At the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854, the 607 cavalrymen of the Light Brigade, acting on a misinterpreted order, directly charged the Russian artillery-a costly mistake.

It is interesting to study poems of the First World War and to compare them with Tennyson's. For example, Wilfred Owen's 'Futility' also deals with the waste and tragedy of war. The two approaches differ, however. Tennyson's focus is more distant, as if watching the charge and admiring the bravery and nobility of the men and their sacrifice. Wilfred Owen and the other poets describe the feelings of the men and those who loved them in a more personal way, dealing with their fear, grief and comradeship.

The poem comprises six stanzas, from eight lines to twelve lines long. The rhyme is highly complex, each stanza with a different pattern. For example, stanza two is AABCDDDCF; the others are variations on this. He also uses assonant rhyme, as in 'hundred' and 'blunder'd'.

As will be seen in the analysis, Tennyson is skilled in his use of language and in manipulating words. Most are monosyllabic, the rest two syllable, to suggest military abruptness. He uses sharp, percussive consonants and masculine endings. The lines have a hypnotic, rhythmic quality, with the dactylic metrical emphasis on the first syllable.

Themes include: Courage and nobility of fighting men.

The waste of war, and sadness at the loss of life.

Incompetence of high command.

The effect on the reader is to create a feeling of sadness and yet spiritual uplift at the men's bravery and sacrifice.

Explanation:

  plan: i will begin with a quotation about the importance of unity in a community. then, i will state my claim that an activity will unite our school by creating a shared vision, purpose, and direction. in the body, i will use three main points that describe the different avenues the students can take: through a variety of clubs, through a special event, or through an awareness week. i will provide evidence about other towns that have unity activities and the kinds of events that they include. pictures will illustrate my three main points in action. for the ending, i will restate the main idea in a new way and pose a question to keep the audience thinking. 

- the heat nearly killed them that first summer.