Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes Flashcards
What is a “bayonet”?
A dagger-like, steel weapon used in hand to hand combat
When was Ted Hughes poet laureate?
1984-1998
Name an example of anaphora in the poem
“Raw” is repeated in the first stanza on consecutive lines. Suggests the soldier does not remember what he is saying. PTSD link
What does the verb “stumbling” imply?
The soldiers are struggling to move across the battlefield.
The alliteration of “hot khaki, his sweat heavy” mimics the sound of what?
The repetitive “h” sounds mimic heavy breathing.
Why do you think Hughes decided to have no rhyme scheme and regular use of enjambment?
No rhyme scheme shows a lack of structure in the poem.
Enjambment shows the lack of punctuation in the poem, and potentially suggests that the narrator constantly forgets to use punctuation in the poem.
The poem also has an irregular stanza length, adding to the lack of structure.
This lack of structure implies that the soldiers suffer from PTSD, and the conditions of war is causing memory loss
What does “bewilderment” mean?
Stanza 2, line 1
Bewilderment shows that the soldiers are largely confused about the situation that they are in.
Has connotations of being perplexed, disorientated
“Patriotic tear” could signify what?
The phrase “patriotic tear” could signify that the soldiers are doubting their loyalty.
The phrase is also an example of an oxymoron within the poem. “Patriotic” has connotations of being a proud individual due to a significant accomplishment. “Tear” has connotations of sadness and isolation, which is exactly the opposite of that patriots would feel.
“Sweating like molten iron” is an example of what literary device?
Simile - amplifies soldiers suffering.
Iron melts at 1,538 degrees, which signifies intense suffering
What is the main theme in the poem? Give examples
The main theme in the poem is generally exposing the conditions of war, and showing how the soldiers are not treated in a humane way.
e.g. “Sweating like molten iron”
“Threw up a yellow hare”
“Terror’s touchy dynamite”
“Bullets smacking the belly out of the air”
Give two quotations that show the terrible conditions that they faced, and how it dehumanised the soldiers
“Foot hung like statuary mid-stride”
–shows the soldiers are statue-like
“Threw up a yellow hare”
- compares the soldiers to hares, and therefore dehumanising the soldiers
Complete the quotation:
“________ he awoke and was running - ___
“Suddenly he awoke and was running - raw”
Complete the quotation:
“Like a man who has jumped up in the ____ and ____”
“Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs”
Complete the quotation:
“Plunged past with his _______ toward the green hedge”
“Plunged past with his bayonet toward the green hedge”
Complete the quotation:
“_________ across a field of clods towards a green hedge”
“Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge”
