Bayonet Charge Flashcards
1
Q
What are the main themes in Bayonet Charge?
A
- War is tragic and terrifying
- Death in battle is not heroic -> ‘Anti-Propaganda’
- Existentialism -> Questioning why we are alive
- Nature is used to convey horrors of war
- Higher power -> Controlling the soldier
- Powerlessness of man
2
Q
What is the form, rhyme and structure like in Bayonet Charge?
A
- Irregular rhyme and rhythm -> Chaos of war
* Tonal shift -> Soldier’s realisation
3
Q
What are some good quotes in Bayonet Charge?
A
- “Hot khaki, his sweat heavy, stumbling” -> Succession of clauses
- “Bullets smacking” -> Aggressive personification
- “Sweating like molten iron” -> Simile
- “Cold clockwork of the stars” + “He the hand” -> Metaphor + Alliteration
- “Shot-slashed furrows” -> Alliteration
- “Hare…Rolled like a flame” -> Simile
- “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera” -> List
4
Q
What effect does “hot khaki, his sweat heavy, stumbling” have?
A
- Powerlessness of man
* Terror of war
5
Q
What effect does “bullets smacking” have?
A
• War is an aggressor
6
Q
What effect does “sweating like molten iron” have?
A
- Shows man’s fear
- Dissolves propaganda
- Allows reader empathy
7
Q
What effect do “cold clockwork of the stars” and “he the hand” have?
A
- Show how the soldier is being used
* Higher power (army) has decided soldier’s fate
8
Q
What effect does “shot-slashed furrows” have?
A
• Nature is destroyed by war
9
Q
What effect does “hare…rolled like a flame” have?
A
- Nature is destroyed by war
- Terror of war
- Juxtaposition of war and small creature -> Highlights horror
10
Q
What effect does “king, honour, human dignity, etcetera” have?
A
- Highlights the extent of propaganda
- Cumulative effect of list
- Builds pace
