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HSC English First Paper | Unit: 12, Lesson: 3 | Peace and Conflict | Crulties of Conflict

1. Warm up activity:
□ Think and not down some features of poetry that distinguish it from prose.
□ The poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" ia about a real war that took place in 1854. Go to the net and And out more about the war, its historical background, and the parties involved in the war.

2. Read the poem and answer the questions that follow:
HSC English First Paper | Unit: 12, Lesson: 3 | Peace and Conflict | Crulties of Conflict
Haifa league, half a league, 
Haifa league onward. 
All in fee valley of Death,
Rode the sit hundred. 
'Forward, the Light Brigade; 
Charge for the guns' he said:
Into the valley of Death 
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldiers knew
Some one 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

3. Guess the meanings of the following words by using contextual clues:
a. valley
b. dismay'd
c. blunder'd
d. volley'd
e. rode
f. reel'd
g. thunder'd

4. Express the main ideas of the poem in your own words.

5. What is the poet's attitude to war? What words and details in the poem reveal the poet's attitude?

6. What happened to the light brigade? What is the poet's attitude to the soldiers mentioned in the poem? What words and expressions show the poet's attitude towards the soldiers?

7. What is a bridge? What is a league?

8. Why does the poet say 'Theirs not to make reply, /Theirs not to reason why,'?

9. Find out the words in the poem associated with warfare (e.g. Cannon).

10. Does the poet think the soldiers' glory will soon fade?

11. 'jaws of Death' is an example of a metaphor. Find out other metaphors used in the poem.

If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:
Lesson 4: "The Old Man at the Bridge" by Ernest Hemingway


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