October 29, 2004

The Charge of the Light Brigade took place 150 years ago - hear Tennyson himself read the poem. The National Army Museum has special features on the charge and on the Crimean War. And what about the Heavy Brigade? Why the famous charge still matters.
  • "Someone had blundered..." Great stuff. One of the great things about being British is the way we love the times we get wooped as much as when we do the woopin' - Dunkirk, Tubrook (well, virtually everything between '39 and '42)etc. And the fact that such a minor charge still resonates.
  • Of course, however bad things got, the officers of the British Army kept up scrupulous standards of dress and etiquette...
  • A tiger!? In Africa??
  • Ever hear the phonograph of Tennyson reading this? "Reedy voice" doesn't even begin to describe the poet. "Half a league...half a league...half a league onward..."
  • Which may be due to the quality of the recording equipmemt, or to the poet's age or health at the time the recoding was made, since various people who went to meet Tennyson and heard him read were mightily impressed with his performances(recalling here descriptions such as that given by Margot Ascot in her memoirs). Like many Victorians, Tennyson quite frequently read or recited to please his visitors. Sompler days, simpler entertainments, one supposes. These days, seem to be differing schools of thought on the reading of poetry. One group wants everything to come out in a flat and -- dare I say it -- mono-whined way, devoid of much expression. While the other wants it to sound more like everyday speech, or else like a stage performance. I, in case ye can't tell, incline strongly towards the presentation styles of the latter.