LIT2 - Poetry - Bayonet Charge Flashcards
Who wrote Bayonet Charge? Give some context about the poem:
-Ted Hughes (nature poet)
-nature poet who was born after WW1, but had a relative in it
-describes a soldier that was “going over the top” (charging the enemy after running out of the trenches)
-criticises the patriotic values that the soldiers were expected to have, and reflecting on the futility of war
Give 5 good quotes from Bayonet Charge:
-Suddenly he awoke and was running…his sweat heavy
-The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye/Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest
-In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations/Was he the hand pointing that second?
-a yellow hare that rolled like a flame/And crawled in a threshing circle
-King, honour, human dignity, etcetera/Dropped like luxuries
Suddenly he awoke and was running…his sweat heavy
-“he” unnamed soldier, generalises the experience to all soldiers
-many “h” sounds to convey panting
-many active verbs, showing how he is highly active/alert in frantic/tense action
The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye/Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest
-simile to describe his centre as burning hot “molten iron”, illustrating the agony he is in
-noun “iron” shows how war has dehumanised him, and is now mechanistic and apathetic
In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations/Was he the hand pointing that second?
-hard alliterative “c” sounds, harsh and mechanistic
-metaphor of “clockwork” suggests the inevitable and cyclic nature of war, and how he (the “hand”) is controlled by the mechanism of the nations
a yellow hare that rolled like a flame/And crawled in a threshing circle
-verb “crawling” and simile “like a flame” shows that the hare (and nature as a whole) is viciously affected by war
-important to Hughes as he is a nature poet, and wrote a lot about nature
-runs around in a circle getting nowhere is used as a metaphor for the endlessness of war, connoting that it is a never-ending cycle of destruction (relates to “cold clockwork” metaphor)
King, honour, human dignity, etcetera/Dropped like luxuries
-lists motivations for war in a triplet, then criticises patriotism in an anti-climax with “etcetera”, dismissing its supposed importance
-simile compares it to “luxuries”, further highlighting how patriotism has no significance in a tense combat situation, and is just an extra
Explain the structure in the poem Bayonet Charge:
-“suddenly” opens in medias res, making reader confused/unaware of what’s happening
-irregular stanzas and frequent enjambment emphasises the frantic/tense action
-fast pace but interspersed with slower-paced to highlight the soldier’s self-reflection on war and himself (eg “he almost stopped - in what cold clockwork…”)
