Who wrote the poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'?

Who wrote the poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'? Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote it. The poem commemorates the British cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War on 25 October 1854.

Tennyson was Poet Laureate when he read a newspaper report describing the disastrous charge, in which a misunderstood order sent cavalry into heavily defended Russian artillery positions. The attack became famous for the soldiers' courage, even though the command was flawed and casualties were severe.

The poem was published in 1854 and quickly became one of Tennyson's best-known works. Its driving rhythm and repeated phrases imitate the thunder of horses and cannon, while lines such as “Theirs not to reason why” emphasize military obedience.

A common mix-up is confusing Tennyson with William Wordsworth, Matthew Arnold, or Robert Browning. Those poets were also major nineteenth-century writers, but none wrote this particular war poem.