bayonet charge

• Poems to compare with:

  Kamikaze- focus on war and their identity loss

  Exposure- Imposed patriotism contrasted to the true reality of war, both show unprepared soldiers

  Charge of the Light Brigade- both show how patriotic ideals can affect their mindsets

  Poppies-

  Remains- psychological impact of war on soldiers
• 'suddenly he awoke and was running-raw' the use of in media res highlights the unpredictable, chaotic and dangerous nature of war. The soldier 'awoke' in war shows that war was the first moment and action in his mind, war has consumed him
• Context: poems based on the effects of war
• A bayonet is a gun with a knife at the end, mainly a suicide mission
• This poem shows the quick last moments of the soldiers mind
• 'raw-seamed' The repetition of 'raw' reinforces the soldiers pain, it is associated with a wound. The uniform shows that the pain comes with the uniform, it is stilll there
• 'his sweat heavy' this metaphor shows the physical impact of the soldier's fear
• 'stumbling across the field' shows that he is not in control of his own body and mind, the verb 'stumbling' highlights the confusion of the soldier
• 'a green hedg' the enemy is unseen and dehumanized making them frightening
• 'bullets smacking the belly out of the air' this metaphor creates a violent atmosphere, highlighting the violence between human and nature.
• 'he lugged a rifle' the verb 'lugged' implies it was an effort to carry, showing unfamiliarity and uncomfortable feelings
• 'patriotic tear' this is irony as the soldier is not fully devoted. The fear has taken over the soldier's patriotism
• 'numb as a smashed arm' the simile suggest that patriotism has been replaced by the pain and fear now that he's seen the reality of war. Also uses sensory imagery
• 'bewilderment that he almost stopped' this highlights his confusion and uncertainty, the fact he 'almost stopped' shows that he canot disobey his orders. The pause slows down the pace, mimicking his own thoughts
• 'cold clockwork' shows it is apart of a decided plan, he is blaming fate for everything that is happening. 'of the stars and the nations' highlights that he is thinking about his own importance and how he feels the war is useless, it also shows a crisis of his fate, an existential questioning
• 'was he the hand pointing that second?' the rhetorical question shows that he is not in full control over his destiny
• 'like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs' the simile suggests he does not know why he is doing it and running. He is 'in the dark' about reality and the horrors of war. It could also show he is running in confusion
• 'his foot hung' shows a focus on the tiny details
• 'yellow hare that rolled like a flame' the simile reflects the danger the hare is in and reinforces the impact that war and conflict has on nature, war disturbs nature. it highlights the 'hare' is terrified by its movements
• 'crawled in a threshing circle' the 'circle' shows a never ending feeling, a feeling of forever and being trapped
• 'king, honour, human dignitary, etcetera' listing the reasons for war highlights its importance is being diminished, the patriotic ideas are dropped
• 'dropping like luxuries' the soldier appears to have completely abandoned his pervious vale's and motivation. the simile suggests that the reasons for war are insignificant . Hughes implies that the soldiers are reduced to only survival
• 'yelling alarm' shows the screams of the charge
• 'his terror's touchy dynamite' th least line implies that the soldier is not in control of his actions. His fear is a weapon, any decision could happen. He is blinded by fear but driven by his terror. he has animalistic fears like the hare
• Context: Hughes poem was set in WW1 as he is a post-war era poet
• Hughes employs a chaotic structure in his poem to mirror the chaos and panic of war, as well as the chaotic mind of the soldier