Bayonet Charge

Question 1

“Dazzled”

Answer 1

Confused the soldier

Question 2

“Green hedge”

Answer 2

• the focus of the running soldier

- sees it as a beacon of hope from all of his misery

Question 3

“Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs”

Answer 3

Simile

Shows how determined/ eager the soldier is to get away

Question 4

“Threw up a yellow hare”

Answer 4

• Shows that the conflict has disrupted nature
• The hare has been thrown into the vicious circle
• The hare could also be a metaphor for the young soldiers who are just thrown into battle

Question 5

Ends with:

“His terror’s touchy dynamite”

Answer 5

The soldier feels like he’s going to explode with fear due to the reality, effects and futility of war.

Question 6

“King, honour, human dignity, etcetera”

Answer 6

• Listing
• Things that seemed important to the soldier before war now seem futile when faced with death.
• The pointlessness of these things is reinforced through the choice of the word “etcetera”

Question 7

“The shot-slashed furrows/ Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame… its mouth wide/ Open silent, its eyes standing out.”

Answer 7

• Gruesome image

- highlights the brutality of war

Question 8

“Suddenly he awoke and was running”

Answer 8

The poem begins in media’s res- this creates a sense of urgency and highlights the chaos of war.

Question 9

“Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge/ That dazzled with rifle fire”

Answer 9

The verb “ stumbling” indicates his lack of control as he is caught up in the chaos of war.

Question 10

“He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”

Answer 10

• Simile
• The image suggests the rifle is useless and therefore emphasises how vulnerable he is.
• It could also foreshadow the injuries he might gain because of war.

Question 11

“The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye/ Sweating like molten iron from the centre of this chest.”

Answer 11

• Simile
• The soldier’s patriotic ideals are useless now he is faced with the reality of conflict.
• The contrast betweened “brimmed”, with its positive connotations of abundance and pride, and “sweating” highlights this contrast.
• Comparing the tears to iron dehumanises the soldier and likens him to something mechanical

Question 12

“In what cold clockwork of the stars…”

Answer 12

• harsh alliteration

- potentially a reference to fate governing the soldier and his powerlessness

Question 13

“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air”

Answer 13

• highlights the danger of the battlefield