Bayonet Charge

Question 1

Context (3)

Answer 1

• Poem is about a nameless soldier going over the top of the trenches
• The nameless soldiers seem to be more of a weapon than a man
• Ted Hughes was a former RAF servicemen and includes a great amount of natural and historical ideas in his poems often looking at man’s impact on nature

Question 2

Themes (4)

Answer 2

• Effects of Conflicts
• Reality of Conflict
• Fear
• Individual experience

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

• Different lines help shows the pace of the charge ,sometimes fast, or stumbling

Question 4

Tone

Answer 4

• “his terror’s touchy dynamite”
• metaphor and consonance
• Chaotic tone

Question 5

Key quotes

Answer 5

• “bullets smacking the belly out of the air”
• “he lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”
• “Patriotic tear”
• “a yellow hare that rolled like a flame and crawled in threshing circle”
• “King, honour, human dignity”

Question 6

Analyse “bullets smacking the belly out of the air” and “he lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm” (2)

Answer 6

• Personified “bullets”
• Semantic field of body parts with “belly” and “smashed arm” blurs the line between weapon and man by dehumanising the soldier and personifying the weapons

Question 7

Analyse “Patriotic tear” and “sweating like molten iron”

Answer 7

Juxtaposes the idea of “patriotic tear” - a beautiful and noble thing full of emotion contrasted with “sweating like molten iron” - which further dehumanises the soldier and likens him more to a tank or machine

Question 8

Analyse “a yellow hare that rolled like a flame and crawled in threshing circle” (4)

Answer 8

• Metaphor is double meaning is it a real hare? Or maybe a coward?
• The noun “yellow” connotes with fear and hares are prey
• Natural and frightened imagery juxtaposed with his own machine like nature
• the hare could also be another soldier who is shot and scared trying to escape - further dehumanising