Expert Responses Tennyson's "Advance of the Light Brigade" recounts the British light cavalry's fatal charge on a well entrenched position during the Battle of Balaclava (part of the Crimean War). This poem glorifies the cavalrymen and their charge as a heroic effort. It is believed that Lord Tennyson, who was serving as Commissioner for the London Exhibition of 1855, wrote the poem to honor the memory of his brother Arthur, who died at the age of 26 when the battle began. The speaker in "Advance of the Light Brigade" is unknown but has been conjectured to be either Harry Vane, 2nd Marquess of Lansdowne, who was Prime Minister at the time, or Lord Cardigan, who commanded the cavalry unit that charged the Russian soldiers. The poem is written in first person present tense, indicating that it was not originally part of a longer work but instead was written as an independent piece. In addition to its use as a memorial poem, "Advance of the Light Brigade" has been cited by other writers as inspiration for various works including a 1995 novel called "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and an episode of the BBC television series "Horizon". Lady Lansdowne wrote several letters to her son while he was away at war reporting on what was happening with the exhibition.