The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1.
Half a league,
half a league,
Half a league
onward,
All in the
Rode
the six hundred.
“Forward,
the Light Brigade!
“Charge
for the guns!” he said:
Into the
Rode
the six hundred.
2.
“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
Rode
the six hundred.
3.
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.
4.
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 saber stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode
back, but not
Not the six
hundred.
5.
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.
6.
When can their
glory fade?
O the wild
charge they made!
All
the world wondered.
Honor the
charge they made,
Honor the Light
Brigade,
Noble six
hundred!
This
work published before January 1, 1923 is in the public domain worldwide because
the author died at least 100 years ago.
Version
1.2, November 2002
Copyright
© 2000,2001,2002 Free Software Foundation Inc.
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