Bayonet Charge Flashcards
Verbs and enjambment give a sense of what in the poem?
Frantic movement and lack of control.
The semantic field of war and nature are juxtaposed, what does this show?
The impact of war on nature.
What makes the poem universal?
The anonymity and use of third person
How is Hughes’ father related to the poem?
He was a veteran of WWI.
When was the poem published?
1957
What are the themes?
Conflict, War, Nature, Patriotism, Effects of conflict.
What collection of poety is Bayonet Charge from?
‘The Hawk In The Rain’
What are the three interpretations of the phrase ‘threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame’?
- represents the soldier, being a ‘coward’ and not wanting to continue.
- represents the illness of the soldiers, for example yellow fever.
- represents the effects of mustard gas (blisterd lungs, the hare’s mouth is ‘wide’ like it is gasping for air).
What is the effect of it beginning in media res?
The reader is confused, like the soldier.
Why are many of the words, such as ‘raw’ and ‘green hedge’, repeated?
Can show the soldier’s stress, the shock he has. He is stuttering, cant find the words to explain it.
Why are many similies used?
The soldier finds it impossible to describe what it is, as he has never experienced it, so can only say what it is like.
Why is there an extremely long simile (‘He was running like a man who has jumped up in the dark…’)?
It is POINTLESS. It makes it complex to read, the reader struggles through the poem, just like the soldier is struggling through the battle.
What line shows Hughes’ mocking of patriotic values, and that they mean nothing in the heat of battle?
‘Kings, honour, dignity, etcetera’
