Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade" after receiving news that nearly all of a group's 600 men had died in a futile charge during the Crimean War. Tennyson was inspired by the courage of the men who had died and wrote the poem accordingly. He really focuses on the fact that these men did their duty despite it being obvious that they would 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 commands his readers to remember the Light Brigade for their bravery, bringing to light a second theme: war heroes must be remembered for their bravery. Tennyson uses a third-person narrator for most of the poem, punctuated by brief exclamations from the officers. The poem has a very cinematic feel, as if a camera is panning across the battlefield, following the progress of the soldiers through “the valley of Death.” The poem opens with distance and direction. The reader knows after the first two lines that someone is trying to cross a mile and a half, but who? What is the topic? Tennyson begins 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 with a similar verse. Finally in the fourth line Tennyson tells the reader what the topic of the poem will be. Six hundred riders are riding a mile and a half through Death Valley. When the knights are introduced, the reader is already intrigued. An unknown officer shouts, formally introducing the reader to the men. This is the British Army Light Brigade, a cavalry group. These men go into battle with swords... middle of the paper... the end rather than the beginning. Tennyson uses the last stanza to reinforce the idea he has been working on throughout the poem: these boys must be remembered. He asks, “When can their glory fade?” 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 Brigade of Light, his goal is for them to be immortalized forever. They live on as legend largely thanks to Tennyson's work. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ultimate goal with his poem was to immortalize the Brigade of Light, his theme is that fallen war heroes must be commemorated forever. An underlying theme is found in the obedience of the soldiers despite the knowledge of their fate. Tennyson also tells readers that duty comes before self-interest, even in cases of life and death.