Bayonet Charge Flashcards
‘Suddenly he awoke and was running’
in medias res- starting in the middle of a story, creating confusion for the reader, mirroring the confusion of a soldier. Used to ‘hook’ the reader in and helps the reader to feel a part of the soldiers process, perhaps feeling empathetic.
‘Raw-seamed’
Implies that the uniform is brand new and very uncomfortable for the soldier, telling us that he is new to war which could suggest him being young.
‘Raw’ connotations of animalistic behaviour- extended metaphor of what war reduces a man to
‘His terror’s touchy dynamite’
repeated ‘t’ sound like ticking timer of dynamite, time is ticking away for the soldier
His terror and emotional character could be what triggers the ‘dynamite’ which could be a metaphor for his life
‘Sweating like molten ir’on from the centre of his chest
Simile- shows the effect that war can on people. Molten iron=very hot and would burn and destroy a human-extreme pain of running and grief.
‘The patriotic tear’ has literally fallen to his chest as if grief at loss of patriotism has penetrated his heart; the former love of his country is converted to physical agony.
‘Statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed furrows’
Pace slows- his ‘foot hung’ in the air. Long vowels and monosyllables lengthen the words to slow the pace. Simile, ‘statuary’ suggests that he freezes. There is a full stop, a caesura emphasising his immobility.
Focus shifts from the soldier’s trepidation and fear to his immersion in combat. The condensed ‘shot-slashed’ is alliterative and onomatopoeic; difficult to say out loud and further slows line pace to seem slow-motion
‘King, honour, human dignity, etcetera’
Soldier fighting for “King, honour” and ‘human dignity’. Fine values fizzle out with dismissive ‘etcetera’. Reality has neutralised idealism. Soldier’s existence is reduced to small distance between himself and the aim of his bayonet: an enemy soldier hiding in the hedge.
Criticises patriotic values soldiers supposedly have, ‘etcetera’ tells us they’re not worth listing and they mean little to a soldier
‘Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge
That dazzled with rifle fire, hearing’
‘Stumbling’ suggests fear and uncertainty. Also implies that soldier’s instinctive obedience is faltering; he’s not running with courage and bravado. The hedge is where enemy is firing from; is personified, as if alive and shooting at the approaching soldier. No sense in the soldier’s mind that young men, the enemy, are firing the guns.
“Dazzled” suggests stunning nature of war machinery; stupefies and blinds charging men.
