Bayonet charge - poem

• Who is the author of the poem "Bayonet Charge"?

  Ted Hughes
• What does Hughes depict in "Bayonet Charge"?

  A soldier charging into battle
• How is the soldier described in the poem?

  He is clumsy and confused
• What causes the soldier to regain consciousness on the battlefield?

  A dying hare thrown in front of him
• What does the hare symbolize in the poem?

  The suffering caused by war
• What realization does the soldier come to during the charge?

  He realizes the danger he is in
• What is the significance of the soldier reverting to his instincts?

  It shows his fear and survival instinct
• In what era did Ted Hughes write "Bayonet Charge"?

  Post-war era
• What personal connection did Hughes have to World War I?

  His father fought in WW1
• What does Hughes aim to highlight in "Bayonet Charge"?

  The brutality of trench warfare
• Who inspired Ted Hughes in his writing of "Bayonet Charge"?

  Wilfred Owen
• What narrative perspective is used in "Bayonet Charge"?

  Third person singular
• How does the third person perspective affect the poem?

  It emphasizes the individual impact of war
• What does the isolation of the soldier in the poem signify?

  The neglect soldiers feel from society
• How does Hughes depict the soldier's emotional state?

  He shows the soldier as desensitized to death
• What structural technique does Hughes use to mirror the chaos of war?

  Chaotic structure
• What effect does enjambment have in the poem?

  It quickens the pace of the poem
• What does caesura in the second stanza signify?

  A pause for philosophical reflection on war
• How does Hughes use imagery in the poem?

  He juxtaposes peaceful images with violence
• What does the hare symbolize in relation to the soldier?

  The collective suffering of soldiers
• How does Hughes personify the hare in the poem?

  By describing its eyes and screaming mouth
• What does the soldier's instinctive action signify?

  A return to primitive survival instincts
• What literary device does Hughes use to show the soldier's disillusionment?

  Asyndetic listing
• What does the phrase "dropped like luxuries" imply?

  Abandonment of values in the face of war

  
• How does Hughes convey the mechanical nature of war?

  Through harsh alliteration and imagery
• What does the hare's suffering represent in the poem?

  The shock that brings the soldier back to reality
• How does Hughes use natural imagery in "Bayonet Charge"?

  To symbolize the suffering caused by war
• What parallels exist between "Bayonet Charge" and Owen's "Spring Offensive"?

  Both depict the horrors of war using similar imagery
• What does the comparison of phrases between Hughes and Owen suggest?

  Hughes borrowed ideas to express his understanding of war
• What does the description of "his sweat heavy" indicate about the soldier's experience?

  It shows the difficulty of fighting without motivation
• How does Hughes depict the soldier's values in "Bayonet Charge"?

  They are abandoned in the face of war's reality
• What does the phrase "cold clockwork" imply about the nature of war?

  It suggests a mechanical and calculated approach to warfare
• How does Hughes use the hare to reflect on the soldier's experience?

  The hare's suffering shocks the soldier into action
• What does the soldier's instinctive action reveal about human nature in war?

  It shows a regression to primal instincts
• What does Hughes project onto an innocent creature in the poem?

  The violence of war
• How does Hughes convey the soldier's desensitization to human death?

  By showing the soldier shocked by the suffering of an innocent animal
• What does the hare's "threshing circle" symbolize in the poem?

  The explicit violence and graphic descriptions of war
• What does the personification of the hare help the reader to associate?

  The hare's suffering with that of the human soldiers
• What does Hughes suggest about human values in war?

  They drop like luxuries
• How does the hare's suffering highlight the injustice of war?

  It shows that innocent organisms are harmed in the conflict