Alfred Lord Tennyson's 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' Mr Bruff Analysis

[@j.1985]

Mrbruff: "10-12 hours of study into this poem." Me: Instantly likes the video...

[@Forflies]

Kinda wish you were my English teacher lol

[@lowbudgetgamers4223]

So do I.

[@Ghost____Rider]

Forflies lol yeah if he was then I wouldn't have to do last minute cramming 😂

[@-kye]

don't we all?

[@sq1807]

Forflies aren’t you rich anyway

[@annonymous5441]

same

[@tanishaparekh8690]

"as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at myself and realise there's nothing left" lmao, great rapping skills

[@gillysings3723]

mc bruff on the mic yes eye

[@dravidianalchemist]

cause ive been blasting and laughing so long that even my momma thinks that my mind is gone

[@thanish5236]

hello tanisha i have a similar name to you

[@ethannation4108]

Just another structural point that I made which could help people.The poem contains rhyme which mirrors the charging of the horses and men. There are several moments in the poem where there are lots of rhymes (e.g. "die" and "why", "shell" and "well"....). However, thee poem contains even more lines which do not follow a rhyme scheme, therefore losing the rhythm and tempo of the ballad. This could reflect the "shatter'd and sunder'd" soldiers who attempted to retreat from the charge. The rhyme which before reflected the trotting of the horses which the men rode on, now becomes almost non existent which reflects the death of not only the horses but also the men. Hope this helps. Would love to hear any improvements or other points to make.

[@letiggo1448]

I wrote that down. Thank you so much!

[@epicgenius1014]

Ethan Nation thank

[@oliverbouchard1499]

i really like this interpretation but i don't think it really fits. yes the end of stanza 4 has no rhyme but stanza 5 is full of it and both are describing the retreat. i suppose you could just comment of the lack of rhyme in stanza 4 but i feel that painting the entire poem with that rather broad interpretation isn't correct

[@yazinal-janabi5199]

Brilliant!

[@drake-om7ir]

gezza

[@crispylegion895]

I just want to say that the little song at 24:22 made me chuckle a little and lifted my mood whilst going through this little and very well picked out analysis. Thank you for that 🙂

[@thatonekidonaboat1269]

gotta love some gangstas paradise!

[@davidegedi8847]

I was absolutely shocked😂

[@bynx3959]

I struggle with English , but good at maths , the way you analyse the poems helps me analyse them as a sort of equation like mathematically. That might not make sense but , thank you

[@mrbruff]

+Gripper great!

[@bynx3959]

mrbruff I might actually do well in my GCSE now

[@mariacakulova9201]

Bynx did u do well?

[@thenight8798]

@@mariacakulova9201 im guessing he failed

[@tasfiasc4208]

I’m the opposite

[@daffytech8317]

I too felt a sudden tremor in my heart at 26:50. The sudden commencing of Mr Bruff's mumble to a soprano rendered within me a discomfort which one could not give an explanation of in the ordinary words. My eyes balled out of their sockets on the strength and passion that was deployed by Mr Bruff, how one is blessed by such pleasant experiences, and in my remembrance always will be.

[@hamzah7]

you've lost the plot mate is this what english literature does to people?

[@Rybo65]

@@hamzah7 indeed good sir some people have lost the plot indeed

[@Aadil_242]

@@hamzah7 🤣

[@hamzasherasmat6593]

@hamzah7 I am afraid, *yes*

[@ipretendtocare2480]

One of my favourite poems. Didn’t click on it expecting this but couldn’t stop listening to you. Keep it up, marvellous teacher.

[@mrbruff]

Thank you!

[@estellemccann1580]

WOOO! I've completed the whole playlist of your videos on poetry! Thank you so so much for this, it means the world. I love the alternative interpretations in each video and the creativity, it's actually inspired me to do A level English literature, as i have found that i love analysing the depths and hidden meanings of a poem. So once again thank you so much! :)

[@destiny-powerhouse3260]

apart from watching his videos for power and conflict, how else would you recommend revising the power and conflict poems?

[@auratownsend7476]

destiny- powerhouse I’m literally doing this now and I’m just taking my own notes on what he’s saying aswell as making sure I include my own ideas. Labelling your poem analysis notes using SLICCE (Structure Language Ideas Context Characters Explore) is something I lovee to use when in poetry as it makes you talk about everything! X

[@victord2520]

same here lol

[@krupajacob9016]

This video had many points that we didn't cover in class....thanks a lot

[@Sion67Productions]

The point you made about 'erred' was fantastic! Someone else may have suggested it but I'd never hear that at school! Thank you so much for these videos. We really didn't look at the poems enough and you're making it so much easier for me to understand them.

[@mrbruff]

Thanks Sion

[@Ikiguyy]

When I first read it, i thought of a similar idea. The "ered" sound sounds like "errmmm" or those other phrase that people say when they dont know what to say. This could reflect the people in power (plosives here should show power, followed by the "ered") and how they didn't know what to do, and so failed.

[@Nightwatcher20]

At first, I thought that this poem was just plain boring (repeating itself, nothing new etc.), but after watching your vid... I LOVE it now! It's actually really interesting! The context actually particularly helped since my English teacher practically skipped over it -_-... Thanks a lot!!!

[@mrbruff]

+Nightwatcher 2.0 awesome!

[@teamcori]

same

[@prabasiva6544]

same

[@kaitlynmassey9074]

It's the same here for me... the context given in this video has helped me understand this poem so much better!

[@darrel6724]

Ive always loved this poem

[@elenajackman7940]

Thank you so much Mr Bruff. You have saved my sanity and Literature grade during this stressful revision period. Thank you so much for everything you do.

[@mrbruff]

+Ellie Jackman no problem

[@DanMcKay]

"Back then if you were a rich, posh boy, you could buy yourself in and make big decisions - it was kinda crazy" *looks to 2017's America*

[@mrbruff]

hahah

[@fraochmataz]

woww

[@abdullahelkafi6280]

right i was thinking the same

[@prabasiva6544]

OMG I HAVE To admit that u are simply AMAZING It was really helpful as it was easy to UNDERSTAND - crystal clear Thank You sooooo much I dont know how to explain how much u helped me but THANK YOuuuuuuuuuuu so much for all your help

[@mrbruff]

+praba siva thanks for that lovely message

[@root2380]

oi guys 60,474 views and only 950 likes?? give him at least a little validation if this saved ur english gcse

[@j.1985]

yeeeee

[@molliebirbeck]

259,000 views and 4.4k likes now

[@joshuaappiah]

you honestly have no idea how much you're helping people... I can't thank you enough Mr Bruff

[@mrbruff]

+Joshua Appiah thanks!

[@itsmike1122]

omg im soo going to fail tomorrow! ;-; Save My Soul!

[@salmayusuf3811]

lol Same :(

[@andrewhayes7912]

If only i could have told you the poem that came up lol. Hope you got a good grade :D

[@zakariyaibrahim1233]

No one cares

[@kashofficial5776]

*He is Technically ur english teacher LMAO*

[@ChrispyBoiYTP]

Did you do it?

[@LonelyPandaBear]

could you say that the repetition of "canon...canon..canon" in the third and five stanaza show the futile cyclic nature of war?

[@mrbruff]

yes!

[@laylacakes1752]

can u please explain more x

[@avinator1355]

26:49 hahahha laughed my arse off

[@mrbruff]

+Avinator13 had to rewatch it to see what you meant. Forgot I mentioned Coolio

[@liamexter]

Haha, I love how afterwards Bruff casually says: 'either one is valid' 😂

[@dofflelover221b6]

looooooooooooooooooooooooool

[@ayushkedia2611]

seemed like he got possed .lol😂😂

[@josephjmurphy1718]

Avinator13 same I love this guy 😂😂

[@ld-ih3ht]

See, when I understand a poem like I do now after watching this, I really really enjoy this! :)

[@mrbruff]

+Abby Lake great!

[@naomi3447]

@@mrbruff where was the draft of the draft of the poem found

[@rachelalexander7762]

This video blew my mind, we only went through the positive message the poem has praising the soldiers in class!

[@nathanlawrence5939]

Oh the memories, this was my favourite poem in the "conflict" anthology that we studied in 2016. I'm doing English now for A Levels, and I just wish that the poems were still like this! I miss doing GCSEs.

[@mrbruff]

+Nathan Lawrence :)

[@horacethecheese1009]

Could you also say that 'volley'd and *thunder* 'd ; *storm* 'd at' is imagery of a violent storm that describes the enemy soldiers as an unbeatable surrounding force, such as the sky?

[@willhobson2772]

stealing this

[@hiccup6442]

@@willhobson2772 just thinking as a further point. the use of the natural adjectives to create the storm imagery is a semantic field. Nature is synonymous with good and natural and just. By creating the idea that the Russians were an unbeatable force like a surrounding storm it could also suggest that the light brigade was going against nature and therefore god himself. This could be criticism of following the archaic rules that lead to the soldiers deaths. You could use this as a contextual point about victorian Britains expectations as well as Tennysons beliefs about the church. Just a thought lmk what you think

[@willhobson2772]

@@hiccup6442 very interesting perspective, not sure I’d even be able to remember it all in exam though

[@demsoc420]

"All that was left of them, left of six hundred" could be an ironic allusion to the war motto of "no man left behind" - the irony being how the soldiers were forced to flee without ensuring all were there and that the majority of soldiers on the battlefield were indeed left dead, within the Valley of Death

[@NoodlesStageSpace]

I DONT KNOW WHO NEED TO HEAR THIS BUT LIKE THIS MANS VIDEO

[@gejesgejesj4107]

This is by far my favorite poem from the anthology. It really contrasted with the other solemn, grieving poems.

[@mrbruff]

Yes I really like it too.

[@tanveersandhu4796]

26:49 absolute legend, hero

[@rachelhumphreys3741]

Love all the videos that Mr Bruff makes and find it really easy to make notes . Would appreciate all the knowledge Mr Bruff gives to people even more if it was on a Spotify podcast

[@bee3162]

my GCSEs are going to be in 2018 but I am already checking out your videos, thank you for breaking this down for me. Videos really help because its what I do with my life so these videos really help me remember everything!

[@mrbruff]

+Erin great!

[@veryfiedd]

Really found the video useful and I struggle quite a lot with poems, you made everything crystal clear and you've reduced stress that I've had for the incoming mocks and then GCSE's I got in a few months. Thank you so much.

[@mrbruff]

Glad to have helped. Good luck!

[@destiny-powerhouse3260]

Sir, I am watching one of the Power and Conflict videos every day and am finding it very memorable. Thank you

[@andrewansell9601]

Thank you for this analysis. The historical background was fascinating as was the insight into the word 'wondered'.

[@onwaya4193]

just wanna let you know youre still helping y11s now lol. mock exams in about a week and im doing really well watching these while i do my own thing

[@emilysmith3626]

Mr Bruff thank you so much! I am so bad at English Literature, especially poetry but your analysis has helped me so much to understand all of the poems! I'm going to do my exam in May and I'm sure you've helped a lot!

[@GuyBurny]

same here

[@sophiemoore7157]

loved how this analysis was mainly focused on form and structure found it so useful!

[@mrbruff]

good!

[@7Idi0ts]

24:24 damn Mr Bruff spitting straight fire also the pause afterwards I'm watching at 1.5 times speed and even I thought that pause was long just made everything sound better

[@Alan-dd2bn]

WOW! Very helpful! I can now nail this poem in the head when writing about it! Thanks

[@thomascarvellmusic3705]

Thanks, helped me a lot. Best of luck with your channel.

[@mrbruff]

+Tom Carvell (ThePianoLad) thanks

[@igorkwiecinski7248]

This was the best video I have ever watched on this website. Thank you so so much. God bless you.

[@mrbruff]

Thank you!

[@sheebaakhtar3357]

Me with my exam in a few hours while also in a global pandemic 👁 💧 👄💧👁

[@littlethins4561]

'I'm cancelling you'- Mr Bruff on Alfred Lord Tennyson's Marriage

[@cyclenutter2715]

Got this exam in just 12 days, never enjoyed poetry analysis so much! Thank you for all the key points and most of all for making it engaging :)

[@mrbruff]

Thank you!

[@feifizheng9986]

My English teacher asked us to watch this for coverwork and on the side she put a little note saying, and I quote, 'He raps at one point in the video!' That was pretty much the only reason our class watched this and suffice it to say, we were not disappointed.

[@mrbruff]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jemimathursz3610]

omg this is amaaazingggggg!!!like i was so dreading revising this poem as it had no meaning but now..!!

[@oliviaa7973]

Thank u sooooo much Mr Buff, ur videos help me so much, getting help from these videos will defo reflect on my grades

[@IzzyClennell]

Your variety of interpretations of dactylic dimeter are so mind blowingly clever! Thank you!

[@nellex147]

The way i screamed when you got onto that oxford analysing, that is a crazy concept

[@l-ja5597]

This poem makes so much more sense now, thanks ever so much!

[@tanishaparekh8690]

"wondered" an amazing analogy

[@ayushkedia2611]

was really confused before😕🙁. Now I understudied the whole poem. thanks to mrbruff

[@samcooke407]

loved the short interlude of rapping! i think it might actually help me remember :)

[@cutescinerd3734]

This is such a great analysis! Bought one of your revision guides to say thanks :)

[@o.steinman3855]

This used to be my least favourite poem, but you've really shed a new light on it

[@mrbruff]

Great!

[@jatsukiox8167]

Who's last minute cramming everything for tmr

[@manoorm4698]

GlobalGamer TELL ME ABOUT IT😂😂😂

[@simranpanesar2832]

Jessica Sunuwar Yesss it's too much 😭😂

[@ginge641]

So you guys got an extra month before your exams? Lucky bastards.

[@PoprossRocks]

I know right

[@jasminebarker6216]

i only hav a week and im JUST going into gcse 0n0

[@The-ch1rz]

If I were you, I'd speed up your audio. I'm listening at double speed and the message comes across perfectly in half the time

[@jessicaharding158]

Absolutely wonderful! I was told by a friend that you are really helpful and she has gone on to get fabulous English grades, which I now hope to too. Thank you so much Mr Buff. :)

[@mrbruff]

+Jess Harding :)

[@imogen9137]

'thank you for sticking with it': thank you for making it!! 😄

[@pizzamanpezzz3438]

Thanks for all the help your analysis helps me a lot 👍

[@francescawatson7234]

Also the 2nd half of the word “wondered” is “dered” which is like how they ‘dared’ to go in to the valley , the risk of it etc

[@ellieheinsenxox2410]

Your videos really do help me!!! Thank u!! I have much better understanding of the poems :)

[@ploppolarbear3394]

I've been revising the poems with my exams coming up soon, I dreaded revising this one, but you have made it so interesting and the Gangsters Paradise cameo was appreciated.

[@anitataggart1054]

Amazing piece of analysis. Thank you. My year 10 class will benefit greatly from your research. :)

[@mrbruff]

+Anita Taggart awesome!

[@jackhodgkinsontv2308]

24:21 he was just sitting there in his room singing that and after just regretted it. I bet

[@fizaowais2416]

My English lit exam is today and I have spent my morning listening to this as prep 😄

[@emilydaw3019]

24:23 lil Bruf

[@Username-ww2cd]

I can now write an entire essay on the word "wondered' 😂. I don't need to memorise the poem, just that.

[@bredamaune2028]

Thanks for this brilliant analysis.

[@mezuk37]

"All the world wondered" is also a quote from Revelation 13...Thank you for the analysis. I think this is my new favourite poem!

[@mrbruff]

thanks!

[@Joseph-ku4he]

Found this super helpful - everything you do! So informative and gets me through each week of home learning. Thank you very much Mr Bruff!

[@jakeconery1131]

You are truly a life saver keep it up!

[@videocurios]

Superb Thankyou I have posted many of the greatest recitals from rare gramophone records of this poem at my videocurios channel,and have animated Tennyson reading his own poem at my poetryreincarnations channel. Mr Bruff your discussion of this poem has left me with a much better understanding of this poem which I consider to be the mother of all modern English language war poems. Stephen Crane's American civil war poem "War is Kind" is probably the mother of all modern anti war poems.

[@ACTIVE_10-16]

Thank you. I am about to teach this and listening to the video had make me identify more things than I thought of. I have the ebooks and they are amazing! Would recommend buying.

[@mrbruff]

+Rees Skelly awesome. Thank you!

[@mrbruff]

+Rees Skelly so glad to read that

[@chelsea.kandemwa]

When you talked about the dactylic meter Ihad no clue what that was but once hearing about it I'm definetly going to include this in my writing and im now so confident on this poem. This poem and Bayonet charge was my least favourite poems out of the lot but after watching this I am so interested in it. Kinda hoping this is what my exam will be on.

[@mrbruff]

That’s great!

[@mollyrose8194]

Get mr Bruff a record label

[@lolaprice5597]

Wow! Thanks again Mr Bruff!! Amazing

[@ganrimmonim]

I'm not sure why this popped up in my recommendations. It's a very interesting video BTW., it's certainly a powerful poem. I last read it at school, back in 1995 and found with only a couple of minor errors I could recite it from memory almost 30 years latter which really says something about it.

[@mrbruff]

That’s very impressive!

[@tanishakalutota4188]

I just want to say : THANK YOUUUU!

[@oliviaelliott1333]

This is amazing! First time I’ve made notes on one of the poems for gcses!:) I’m taking my gcses this year and am very nervous!

[@riannejohnstone]

Thank you so so much this has been a huge help for my exam tomorrow 🙏🏻

[@freddiehill1512]

Wow I feel so intelligent now!! Im gonna rock these exams! Thanks Mr Bruff

[@mrbruff]

+Freddie Hill great

[@uthmanbinimran7395]

Best analysis ever!!!!!!!!!

[@Justme-od8lk]

Thank you Mr.bruff

[@mrbruff]

You're welcome!

[@sorbunnessa6966]

Your videos are absolutely amazing! they are so helpful and it is helping me during my English work. Please make more!

[@mrbruff]

+Sorbun Nessa new poem analysis every Saturday

[@cybercab]

This analysis is excellent. Thank you. Thinking I should do an audio recording of this.

[@eni867]

When he rapped, I paused the video, liked and subscribed, then carried on working

[@nchowdhury7439]

incredible video: the work put in clearly shows

[@reynoldschris362]

Great video, continuing to help on my way to my great GCSE results ;) haha keep up the good work!

[@TC-xx1sv]

Please not he was the POET LAUREATE NOT POET LAURETTE. This is a spelling error. You may be penalised. The correct spelling is : poet laureate

[@tommyscott8511]

Cramming all these videos is helped by putting it on 2x speed

[@alicefran8743]

This is SO AMAZING. Just spent 70 minutes sitting and pausing this to make a spider diagram. (Which I do with all your poetry videos!!). They help me understand the poem so much better. How many quotations would you recommend for learning from each poem? It's so stressful having to know each one in so much depth-especially when we're only going to have to write about two !!!

[@elkay6263]

I would say four quotations from each poem, and really good meaningful quotations, which is what I'm also doing. NEVER memorise about 10 quotations from each and just throw them in. Memorise four or five extremely meaningful from each poem and use them in the exam alongside structure and context, keeping in mind you only have 45 mins.

[@jackharman4516]

You make the soooooooooooo much easier, thank you

[@chaitanyachakradeo2278]

really ingenious - interesting analysis of both interpretations

[@eni867]

This made me appreciate poems

[@mrbruff]

That's great to hear! Thank you

[@iramabbass1908]

Hello:) This has been very helpful; quite perceptive and complexed ideas explained clearly. Thank you very much.

[@awnammar7660]

Thank you so much, you gave an amazing and clear analysis, keep up the good work!

[@mrbruff]

Thank you!

[@awnammar7660]

@@mrbruff ur Welcome !

[@slickjumpedoverthelazydog]

we did charge of the lightbrigde as our first poem

[@Naaxdoley]

thank you so much for this. Absolutely amazing how i learn so much more from your videos.

[@mrbruff]

Great!

[@Ghost____Rider]

If I get a 7 or 8 (7 is my predicted grade but tbh I want an 8) in English literature I will be indebted to you sir 👍

[@esthermay7066]

this is 4 years later but what did you get?

[@Ghost____Rider]

@@esthermay7066 I got a 9!

[@esthermay7066]

@@Ghost____Rider wow, that's awesome!! Was Mr. Bruff your main source of revision?

[@Ghost____Rider]

@@esthermay7066 I wouldn't say he was my main source but I did end up memorising a lot of his analyses and regurgitating them in the exam. This was a long time ago haha but I think I also just practiced essay questions *a lot* which really helped. And I made up some exam style questions that I thought might appear and I sort of memorised them. Just make sure you have something to say about each quote in the anthology and you should be good :)

[@tyler8696]

This really helped, thanks a lot. I just purchased the book from Amazon!