Poetry - Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes

Question 1

Give context for ‘Bayonet Charge’

Answer 1

• It is thought that in Bayonet Charge Hughes wanted highlight the brutality of trench warfare as tribute to his father (who fought in WW1) and a way to memorialize war as a warning for future generations

Question 2

Describe perspective in the ‘Bayonet Charge’

Answer 2

• It is written in the third person giving a limited narrative perspective, allowing the reader to focus on the individual impact of war by showing the way war impacts a single individual
• This also emphasises the isolation felt by soldiers. As the protagonist is the only human in the poem, he is isolated from any source of help or comfort which intensifies the suffering of the speaker and focuses the audience on the impact that war has on them

Question 3

Describe the enjambment in ‘Bayonet Charge’

Answer 3

• Enjambment stops the reader from taking a break which quickens the pace
• The whole of the first stanza is single sentence, matching the tense action and maintains the momentum of a bayonet charge and helps the readers to empathise with the panic and fear felt by the soldier

Question 4

Describe the caesuras in ‘Bayonet Charge’

Answer 4

• The pace of second stanza is much slower as it’s broken by lots of caesuras
• The pace is paused, implying that time has stopped or the solider is so overwhelmed, they are forced to pause and consider. This causes the listener to pause and consider the reality of war

Question 5

Finish the quote: ‘Suddenly he awoke…’ and describes it

Answer 5

The poem begins in media res, creating a sense of urgency and highlight the chaos of war
“Suddenly he awoke and was running”

Question 6

Finish the quote: ‘The patriotic tear…’ and describe it

Answer 6

• “The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye. Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest.”
• Simile
• The soldier’s patriotic ideals are useless now he is faced with the reality of conflict
• The contrast between “brimmed”, with its positive connotations of abundance and pride, and “sweating” highlights this contrast
• Comparing the tears to iron dehumanises the soldier and likens him to something mechanical

Question 7

Finish the quote: ‘King, honour,…’

Answer 7

• “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera”
• Listing
• Things that seemed important to the solder before the war now seem futile when faced with death
• The pointless of these things is reinforced through the choice of the word “etcetera”

Question 8

Finish the quote: ‘He lugged a rifle…’

Answer 8

• “He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”
• Simile
• The image suggests the rifle is useless and therefore emphasises how vulnerable he is
• It could also foreshadow the injuries he might gain because of war