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
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & 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 & 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 & Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,
Shatter'd & 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 & 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 wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
This is the emulation by me:
"Retreat in the Winter Months"
Back, my friends, back, my friends
Advance the opposite way,
In the winter months
We regressed:
'We cannot hold, comrades!
Make for the river', he cried:
In the winter months
We regressed.
'We cannot hold, comrades!'
Could a man believe?
Even though we knew
Some one had failed:
Ours not to question why,
Ours not to boast reply,
Ours to charge and die
In the winter months
We regressed.
Enemy behind us,
Enemy in front of us,
Enemy above us
Rain'd & pound'd
Storm'd by shell and round
Shamefully, we look back
Into once a living Hell
We regressed.
Flash'd all their muzzles blare
Flash'd as they took the air
Sabring our comrades there
Charging to our rear
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged through the billowing smoke
Right through our line they broke;
Invader and Russian
Relinquished by the armored stroke
Shak'n and shatter'd
Then they fell back, but not
Not the regress.
Enemy behind us,
Enemy in front of us,
Enemy above us
Rain'd and pound'd
Storm'd by shot and round
Whilst friends and comrades fell,
They had served us well
Came back from the grasp of Hell
To help us fare thee well.
Even though no remained,
Left of the men who stayed.
When can our shame recede.
The horrible retreat we made!
Yet, all the world wonder'd
Remember the men who fell
Send the invaders to Hell
No longer shall we regress!
I not only really liked the imitation of the poem, I really liked your new poem too. I thought it was very clear as to the point of the poem and to see that voice in it was great too. I think that the repetition was put in there very well. This is a great piece not only in the imitation of the original, but in the piece itself.
ReplyDeleteI really like this poem. It's very well written and has a lot of voice. Like Chandler said, it is very clear to the point, and I like the repetition too. It almost has a marching-type beat to it which is really nice. Great job.
ReplyDeleteI really like the rhyming in this poem; it gave it a really cool effect! The imitation was awesomeeee, so great job! :)
ReplyDeleteLike everyone said, I thought you did a great imitation of the poem. Your voice in the poem sounded a lot like the author's and the concept was right on. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Allison that the rhyming added a great effect to your poem, especially when you read it and made it sound how you really wanted it to. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI thought your voice and style in this poem were excellent, and identical to the original poem. You also did a nice job with rhyming and effects in your poem.
ReplyDelete