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Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
The Charge of the Light Brigade [1854]
William Bennett, former Secretary of Education under President Reagan, includes this poem in his bestselling anthology, The Book of Virtues. His preface reads, “Tennyson based this famous poem on the Battle of Balaklava, fought on October 25, 1854, during the Crimean War, in which a small force of British cavalry made a daring by disastrous assault against a Russian artillery line. After the attack, only 195 of the 673 men in the Light Brigade answered muster call. Some find it fashionable to ridicule this poem as a glorification of war and paean(1) to those who blindly, and stupidly, follow orders. But the fact is that there are times when obedient acts of self-sacrifice and courage merit both admiration and profound gratitude.”
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.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone 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 sabers bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sab’ring 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 saber 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 through 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?
Oh, the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade—
Noble six hundred!
Questions for Discussion
1. What weapons do the soldiers in the brigade use?
A) sabers
B) cannon
C) shotguns
D) rifles
2. The soldiers in the brigade are ordered to charge for what?
A) the cannon
B) the sabres
C) the soldiers
D) the guns
3. Which of the following is not used to describe the path of the soldiers of the brigade?
A) into the valley of Death
B) into the pit of Hell
C) into the mouth of Hell
D) into the jaws of Death
4. How many are riding in the brigade?
A) eight hundred
B) four hundred
C) two hundred
D) six hundred
5. As the soldiers in the brigade rode, they were assaulted on the right and left by what?
A) sabers
B) cannon
C) soldiers
D) guns
6. Who are the opponents of the brigade?
A) the Germans and the Russians
B) the Siberians and the Russians
C) the Cossacks and the Germans
D) the Cossacks and the Russians
7. How far does the brigade have to go?
A) one and a half leagues
B) two leagues
C) a league
D) half a league
8. Which of the following statements best defines the main purpose of the poem?
A) The poet wanted to honor the brave men involved in the charge.
B) The poet wanted to point out what cowards the soldiers were.
C) The poet wanted to point out the costly error made by the commander.
D) The poet wanted to point out how soldiers are unable to think for themselves even in the face of certain death.
Ulysses [1842]
In this poem, Ulysses (the Roman for Odysseus and the hero of Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey), now an old man, having returned to Ithaca after twenty years absence and much adventure, has grown restless, and is now contemplating setting out with his crew again.
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Matched with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honoured of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers;
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breath were life. Life piled on life
Were all to little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and through soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centered in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads you and I are old;
Old age had yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in the old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are,
One equal-temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Questions for Discussion
1. All the following terms are applicable to the poem's form EXCEPT
A) blank verse.
B) iambic pentameter.
C) heroic couplets.
D) five stresses per line.
2. Ulysses has been home from the war and his wanderings for
A) three months.
B) three days.
C) three weeks.
D) three years.
3. Why does Ulysses say that his subjects "know not me"?
A)They think he's an impostor and the real Ulysses is dead.
B) He was gone for so long that they've forgotten him.
C) They refuse to obey any of his commands.
D) They have no sense of what he thinks is important in life.
4. What does Ulysses mean by "The long day wanes"?
A) Let's hurry because the end of life is near.
B) There's still plenty of time to do what we want.
C) We're too old and frail to start on another voyage.
D) We'd better wait until tomorrow to set sail.
5. The voyagers might see Achilles because the Happy Isles
A) are the afterlife: Achilles is dead.
B) are where the Sirens lured Achilles and Circe holds him captive.
C) are where Achilles has been banished.
D) are Achilles' homeland, to which he returned after the Trojan War.
6. What is dull, according to Ulysses?
A) to wage war with his peers
B) to leave souls that have toiled
C) to pause and to make an end
D) to follow knowledge
7. What does Ulysses say old age has?
A) his honor and his toil
B) death on its trail
C) its miseries
D) work to do
8. To where does Ulysses want to sail?
A) to cities yet unseen
B) the places of his previous battles
C) to Troy
D) beyond the sunset
9. "I will drink / life to the lees." In the quoted line Ulysses is saying that he _______ till the end of his life.
A) will keep traveling and exploring
B) will go on drinking and being happy
C) would like to toast to his glorious life
D) would like to drink the cup of wine
10. In “Ulysses,” what quality does Ulysses believe makes Telemachus well suited to kingship?
A) courage
B) strength
C) intelligence
D) conscientiousness
11. In the view of Tennyson, Ulysses as a hero is characterized by
A) the ability to keep on struggling, though he is old and has already accomplished great things.
B) a concern for his men and their need to continue to make a living.
C) his love of his wife and his homeland.
D) a desire to stop and reflect philosophically on all he has accomplished in the past.
E) all of the above
12. The title of Alfred Tennyson's poem "Ulysses" reminds the reader of the following EXCEPT
A) the Trojan War
B) Homer
C) the quest archetype
D) Christ
13. Metaphor is used in the following lines EXCEPT
A) "I will drink / Life to the lees" (lines 6-7)
B) "And drunk delight of battle with my peers" (line 16)
C) "Far on the ringing planes of windy Troy" (line 17)
D) "Yet all experience is an arch wherethro' / Gleams that untravell'd world" (lines 18-19)
E) "To rust unburnished, not to shine in use" (line 22)
1C, 2D, 3D, 4A, 5A, 6C , 7A, 8D, 9A, 10D, 11A, 12D, 13C
The Eagle [1851]
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
clasp = grab; crag = steep, rugged rock
Questions for Discussion
Reread “The Eagle” carefully and actively. Circle the answer you think is correct.
1. Line 1 of the poem uses alliteration. Which other line uses alliteration?
A) line 2
B) line 3
C) line 6
2. Line 1 also uses personification. Which other line uses personification?
A) line 2
B) line 4
C) line 6
3. The last line of the poem reads, “And like a thunderbolt he falls.”Which tool does this line use?
A) personification
B) metaphor
C) simile
4. The poem compares the eagle to a thunderbolt. How do you think the speaker feels about eagles?
A) They are weak, shy animals.
B) They are fast, powerful animals.
C) They are unpredictable, wild animals.
5. By the end of the poem, readers should feel a certain way about eagles. They should
A) have great respect for eagles.
B) be glad there aren’t any eagles around.
C) feel sorry for eagles.
The Oak
Live thy Life,
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;
Summer-rich
Then; and then
Autumn-changed
Soberer-hued
Gold again.
All his leaves
Fall'n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough
Naked strength.
Questions for Discussion
1. What rhyme scheme does the poet use in the first stanza?
A) a-b-c-d-e
B) a-b-a-b-a
C) a-b-c-d-b
D) a-a-b-b-b
2. "Bright in spring, / Living gold;" What do these lines from lines 1–5 most likely symbolize?
A) importance of jewelry
B) beautiful yellow leaves
C) bright promise of youth
D) pride in accomplishments
3. "Summer-rich / Then; and then / Autumn-changed / Soberer-hued / Gold again." In lines 6–10 of the poem, what does the word soberer mean?
A) darker
B) rougher
C) brighter
D) smoother
4. According to the poet, what does the phrase “naked strength” imply about old age?
A) Older people expend more effort when standing up.
B) Older people need to enhance their appearances.
C) Older people possess inner beauty and wisdom.
D) Older people experience life more fully.
5. Which lines from the poem best support the idea that the poet respects the oak?
A) Live thy life, / Young and old,
B) Autumn-changed / Soberer-hued / Gold again.
C) All his leaves / Fall’n at length,
D) Look, he stands, / Trunk and bough / Naked strength.
6. What organizational technique does the poet use to communicate the ideas in this poem?
A) a problem and its solution
B) a conflict and its resolution
C) the description of a character
D) the sequential order of events
7. What is the theme of this poem?
A) People should appreciate each stage of life.
B) Trees and nature should be protected.
C) Things will lose their value over time.
D) Gold will continue to grow in value.
8. What does this poem illustrate?
A) the poet’s appreciation of nature
B) the poet’s respect for hard work
C) the poet’s admiration of youth
D) the poet’s fears for the future
9. If a student wanted to learn more about the viewpoint of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the most credible resource would be
A) a journal kept by the poet.
B) a textbook entry about the poet.
C) a collection of poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
D) a Web site about the life of Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1.C; 2. C; 3. A; 4. C; 5. D; 6. D; 7. A; 8. A; 9. A
Crossing the Bar [1889]
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
Questions for Discussion
1. The notion of “crossing the bar” is a metaphor for
A) praying to God
B) dying
C) becoming an attorney
D) growing old
E) none of the above
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