Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes

Question 1

STRUCTURE

Answer 1

• Begins in media res; we are thrown into the action just as the soldier is.
• Largely blank verse with no set structure.
• The different lines help show the pace of the charge; sometimes fast, sometimes stumbling. Towards the end it picks up speed, perhaps as he approaches his destination or doom.
• Uses a lot of enjambement and caesuras to give a bizarre and erratic speed to the poem, highlighting the confusion and intensity of the battle with explosions and gunfire as well as the jumbled thoughts of the soldier.

Question 2

CONTEXT

Answer 2

• About a nameless soldier going over the top in the trenches in WW1.
• The soldier seems to become more a weapon than a man, rushing toward the enemy.
• It is not clear at the end whether he dies but there is definitely a change him.
• His actions are very raw and primal, much like an animal, suddenly pausing, preparing to react.

Question 3

AUTHOR

Answer 3

Ted Hughes.
- Former RAF serviceman
- Father served in WW1 and his childhood in the 1930s was overshadowed by the impact of war.
- Includes a great amount of natural and historical ideas in his poems, often looks at man’s impact on nature.

Question 4

KEY IDEAS

Answer 4

• The poem explores a soldier’s charge through a mix of physical and emotional exploration.
• The language of the poem seems to juxtapose natural animal images and human machine; they are at conflict.
• The mix of caesura and enjambement in the poem adds a chaotic tone to show the confusion of war as well as the inner turmoil of the soldier.

Question 5

KEY QUOTES

Answer 5

“In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy”
“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air”
“Lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”
“The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye Sweating like molten iron”
“King, honour, human dignity, etcetera dropped like luxuries in yelling alarm”

Question 6

Analysis - “in raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy”

Answer 6

• Alliteration of R and H
• Gives sound of hard work; heavy breathing

Question 7

Analysis - “bullets smacking the belly out of the air” “he lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”

Answer 7

• Personified bullets (human verb: ‘smacking’)
• Semantic body parts with ‘belly’ and ‘smashed arm’
• Blurs the line between weapon and man by dehumanising the soldier and personifying the weapons.

Question 8

Analysis - “The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye Sweating like molten iron”

Answer 8

• Juxtaposed ideas.
• 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 9

Analysis - “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera dropped like luxuries in yelling alarm”

Answer 9

• Listing of the key motivations for war emphasises that here and now, they are second to the rush of the battle.