bayonet charge - ted hughes

Question 1

Give a plot summary for Bayonet Charge.

Answer 1

bayonet charge - ted hughes:

• a soldier runs through gunfire holding a rifle with a bayonet attached (a blade)
• the soldier becomes confused and pauses for a second, unsure with what he is doing
• he notices a hare on the battlefield, which thrashes about, dying
• he stops thinking, remembers the pride he’s meant to have and resumes the charge

Question 2

How did Ted Hughes experience war in his life?

Answer 2

bayonet charge - ted hughes:

• Hughes’ father was emotionally scarred by the war and he told him lots of war stories in the countryside where they grew up
• he was a massive fan of Wilfred Owen and other war poets
• the poem is set in WWI but was written in 1957, and Hughes was born in 1930, so he had little personal experience with war

Question 3

What is a bayonet?

Answer 3

A bayonet is a knife designed to go on a gun for close combat.

Question 4

Give seven key quotes in Bayonet Charge.

Answer 4

bayonet charge - ted hughes:

• “suddenly he awoke and was running”
• “lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”
• “the patriotic tear that had brimmed his eye”
• “in bewilderment then he almost stopped-“
• “in what cold clockwork… was he the hand”
• “a yellow hare that rolled like a flame”
• “king, honour, human dignity, etcetera”

Question 5

Give four relevant points about structure or form in Bayonet Charge.

Answer 5

bayonet charge - ted hughes:

• third person
• no rhyme
• past tense
• 8/7/8 stanza length

Question 6

Give four key themes in Bayonet Charge.

Answer 6

bayonet charge - ted hughes:

• effects of war
• futility of war
• pride and glory
• suffering