The Charge of the Light Brigade Practice

1. THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
1. About which war was "The Charge of the Light Brigade"written?
The Crimean War
2. Accordingto the firststanza of "The Charge of the Light Brigade", how many British forces rodeinto
the battle?
Six hundred
3. In stanza one, what does the phrase“the Valley of Death” refer to?
The valley where the British soldiers rode/ the battle occured.
4. Why do you think the poet refers the valley as “The Valley of Death”?
It is becausethe soldiers knewthat they were going to losein the battle and they would die.
5. Why did the soldiers rideto their death?
They had to obey their commander’s order.
6. In stanza 1, what was the lightbrigadeordered to do?
They were ordered to move forward on a frontal assault against a well-armed Russian soldiers/ to
attack the Russian soldiers
7. What kind of weapons did the Light Brigadehave?
Spears,swords and bows
8. What weapons did their opponents/enemies have?
Cannons,rifles
9. In stanza 2, what does the word ‘dismayed’ suggest?
It means to loseyour courage/ to be overcome by terror or sadness
10. Did the British soldiersfeel discouraged? Why?
No, they did not. It was because they were carryingout their duty and if they were to die, they would
die with honour/ They had to obey the command of their leader.
11. In stanza 2, what does the line“Someone had blundered” suggests?
The commanding officer had made a stupid and clumsy mistakeby orderingthem to chargethe well-
prepared Russian soldiers/ theleader had made a mistake in givingorder
12. Write the meanings of the followinglines:
i. Theirs not to reply : The soldiers mustnot talk back to their commanders.
ii. Theirs not to reason why : They must followthe orders without askingwhy.
iii. Theirs but to do and die:All they could do was to ride and fight and possibly diein
the battle.
13. Who won the battle?
The Russian soldiers
14. Give two adjectives to describethe six hundred men?
Courageous/ brave/ noble/ heroic/ loyal/ patriotic/obedient
15. If you were in the army and your commander told you to fight in a battle where you would most likely
die, what would you do? Why?
16. Do you believe that war is sometimes necessary? Why?
17. Is itnoble to followorders without askingquestions? Why?
FIT/SMKAM/FEB 2015