"Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die"

E169713

poetic line quotation

"Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die" is a famous line from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade," encapsulating the unquestioning duty and sacrifice of soldiers in battle.

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All labels observed (1)

Label	Occurrences
"Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die" canonical	1

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	poetic line ⓘ quotation ⓘ
associatedWith	Military history of the United Kingdom ⓘ surface form: British military history Victorian literature ⓘ
author	Alfred, Lord Tennyson ⓘ
containsWord	Theirs ⓘ die ⓘ do ⓘ reason ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United Kingdom ⓘ
culturalSignificance	frequently cited in discussions of military ethics ⓘ proverbial expression of blind obedience ⓘ
describes	fatalism in war ⓘ military obedience ⓘ soldiers' sacrifice ⓘ unquestioning duty ⓘ
expresses	acceptance of inevitable death ⓘ subordination of individual judgment to command ⓘ
firstPublicationWork	The Examiner ⓘ
firstPublicationYear	1854 ⓘ
fromLineNumberApproximate	14 ⓘ
fromStanzaNumber	2 ⓘ
hasSubject	cavalry soldiers ⓘ military orders ⓘ
historicalContext	Crimean War ⓘ
historicalEventReferenced	Charge of the Light Brigade ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
meter	dactylic meter ⓘ
mood	somber ⓘ
oftenMisquotedAs	"Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die" ⓘ
partOfWork	Charge of the Light Brigade ⓘ surface form: "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
period	Victorian era ⓘ
quotedIn	literary criticism ⓘ military speeches ⓘ political commentary ⓘ
register	elevated ⓘ
rhetoricalDevice	antithesis ⓘ ellipsis ⓘ parallelism ⓘ
rhymeScheme	internal rhyme ⓘ
theme	duty ⓘ heroism ⓘ loyalty ⓘ obedience to orders ⓘ tragedy of war ⓘ
workGenre	poetry ⓘ

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Charge of the Light Brigade → hasPoeticMotto → "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die" ⓘ