Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade" after receiving news that almost the entire group of 600 men had died in a futile charge during the Crimean War. Tennyson was inspired by the courage of the fallen men and therefore wrote the poem. He really focuses on the fact that these men did their duty despite the evidence that they were going to die, and tries to convince the reader of one of his themes for the poem: that duty despite better judgment is extremely admirable . He also instructs his readers to remember the Light Brigade for their courage, highlighting a second theme: war heroes should be remembered for their bravery. Tennyson uses a third-person narrator for most of the poem, punctuated by short exclamations from officers. The poem has a very cinematic feel, as if a camera is rotating around the battlefield, following the soldiers' progress through "the valley of death." The poem opens with distance and direction. The reader knows from the first two lines that someone is trying to cross a mile, but who? What is the subject? Tennyson starts with a touch of mystery, then moves to the dark side. Suddenly the journey passes through "the valley of death", which is most likely a reference to a Psalm containing a similar verse. Finally, in the fourth line, Tennyson tells the reader what the poem will be about. Six hundred horsemen ride a mile and a half through Death Valley. By the time the horsemen are introduced, the reader is already intrigued. » shouts an unknown officer, formally introducing the men to the reader. This is the British Army's Light Brigade, a cavalry group. These men fight with swords... middle of paper ... end rather than beginning. Tennyson uses the last stanza to push hard the idea he has been working on throughout the poem: these guys need to be remembered. He asks: “When can their glory disappear? and he doesn't want an answer. This rhetoric serves to illustrate his feelings about how long these men should be remembered: forever. Tennyson ends the poem by commanding the reader to remember the Light Brigade, his goal being that they be immortalized forever. They live on as legend largely due to the work of Tennyson. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ultimate aim with his poem was to immortalize the Light Brigade, his theme being that fallen war heroes should be remembered forever. An underlying theme is found in the soldiers' obedience despite knowing their fate. Tennyson also tells readers that duty comes before self-interest, even in cases of life and death..