"Noble six hundred!..."See in text(Text of the Poem)
A final variation of the refrain expresses the poem’s major theme: in their devotion to duty and determination in battle, the soldiers of the Light Brigade were “noble,” meaning that they were unselfish, brave, and honorable.
"Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die...."See in text(Text of the Poem)
The lines are an example of a “tercet” in poetry: a three-line stanza or three lines of verse embedded within a stanza that may or may not rhyme. In this case, the tercet appears within the stanza and features perfect end rhymes: the words at the ends of the lines—“reply,” “why,” and “die—rhyme perfectly to the ear. Also, the parallel construction of the three lines further sets them apart from the rest of the stanza. Through the tercet, a major theme in the poem is introduced: the soldiers’ absolute devotion to duty.
