Bayonet Charge

Question 1

Poet

Answer 1

Ted Hughes

Question 2

Key Quotes

Answer 2

“Suddenly he awoke and was running - raw”

“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air”

Question 3

Form

Answer 3

Enjambment and caesura
Lines of uneven length = soldiers struggling to run through mud
Soldier is “he” to keep anonymous (universal figure for any soldier)

Question 4

Language

Answer 4

Figurative language to express physical pain of soldiers and question point of war, like “sweating like molten iron”

Question 5

Themes

Answer 5

Reality of conflict
Fear
Individual experience

Question 6

Context

Answer 6

WW1

Soldiers goes ‘over-the-top’ carrying in bayonets, normally ending in mass casualties

Question 7

Structure

Answer 7

Poem starts in ‘medias res’ - middle of action
First stanza = acting on instinct, second stanza = stands still and thinks
Final stanza = gives up thoughts and loses his humanity - “his terror’s touchy dynamite” (soldier is weapon not human being)