Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes Flashcards
The poem in a nutshell…
This poem follows the journey of a single soldier as he goes from sleeping in a camp to running either from or towards a sudden battle. The poet emphasises the soldier’s terror, shock and confusion at finding himself in such a horrific scene. Much of the poem’s imagery
centres on the destruction of the once peaceful and natural scene of a green field. The poet
questions the idea of blind patriotism as this soldier questions what his purpose in this war
really is.
Context
Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was born in Yorkshire, in the North of England, and grew up in the countryside. He served in the RAF for two years.
The themes of the countryside, human history and mythology therefore already deeply influenced his
imagination by the time he started writing poetry as a student.
‘Bullets smacking the belly out of the air – He lugged a
rifle numb as a smashed arm’
The bullets puncture the air and the image of ‘smacking’ refers to the winded feeling the solider has as he runs for his life across the field.
His ‘numb’ rifle and ‘smashed arm’ have a dual meaning: he could feel numb to the pain he has to cause with the rifle. He could have literally smashed his rifle into his arm in his panic.
This highlights both the soldier’s inexperience and trauma at what he has had to do in the war
‘In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations
Was he the hand pointing that second?
The solider questions his purpose. His reference to ‘clockwork’ could suggest that these conflicts happen regularly and possibly arbitrarily. He refers to himself as ‘the hand’ which could refer to clock hands. He feels like a part of a machine. Is he in control? Is this what he wanted when he signed up to the army?
‘Then the shot-slashed furrows
Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame
And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide
Open silent, its eyes standing out’
The alliterative ‘s’ sounds (sibilance) mimics the sound of the bullets destroying the soil of the field. ‘Slashed’ creates violent imagery.
The yellow hare represents the innocence of nature in
conflict. The ‘threshing circle’ is a farming term but has
connotations of violence and destruction.
The imagery of the hare’s ‘mouth wide open silent’ has
connotations of pain and death.
The enjambment in this section, and throughout the poem, highlights the speed and panic of the situation and possibly the soldier’s inability to complete his thoughts in time (or at all).
Aspects of Power or Conflict
This poem highlights the reality of conflicts and the sheer fear and terror that soldiers feel. It questions the
idea of patriotism and highlights the damage to both humans and nature that war and conflict can cause.
Poems that can be linked
Charge of the Light Brigade
Exposure
