"Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die." Tennyson's poem honors the 600 British cavalrymen who rode into a deadly valley after a mistaken order. This free worksheet has the full poem with numbered lines, vocabulary, five discussion questions, a writing prompt and an answer key. No signup needed.
Grades 8–11 · Common Core RL.9-10.4, RL.9-10.2, RL.9-10.5 · US Letter PDF, with an answer key on the last page
What’s on the worksheet
The poem describes a real event: the charge of the British Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854, during the Crimean War. Because of a miscommunicated order, lightly armed cavalry charged straight at Russian artillery. Tennyson, then Poet Laureate, published the poem weeks later, in December 1854. Its galloping dactylic rhythm imitates the horses' hooves.
Vocabulary
- league: an old unit of distance, about three miles
- brigade: a large military unit
- dismay'd: discouraged, afraid
- blunder'd: made a serious mistake
- volley'd: fired many shots at once
- saber: a heavy curved sword used by cavalry
- Cossack: a Russian cavalry soldier
- shatter'd and sunder'd: broken and split apart
Discussion questions
- What mistake does the poem say was made, and how do the soldiers respond?
- What does "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die" mean? Do you think Tennyson admires this or questions it?
- Find the lines that repeat with changes, such as "Cannon to right of them." Why do they change in stanza 5?
- How does the rhythm of the poem make you feel when you read it aloud?
- What does the final stanza ask readers to do?
Writing prompt
Write a short poem (12–20 lines) honoring a group of people who showed courage together, using one repeated line or refrain.
The answer key is included in the PDF, on its own page for teachers.