Bayonet Charge

• Who is the author of "Bayonet Charge"?

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

  A soldier charging into battle
• What is the synopsis of "Bayonet Charge"?

  • Soldier unprepared for battle
  • Clumsy and confused
  • Pauses to consider his role
  • Sees a dying hare
  • Realizes danger and runs in fear
• What animal is thrown in front of the soldier?

  A hare
• How does the soldier feel when he sees the hare?

  He is jolted back to consciousness
• When was "Bayonet Charge" published?

  1957
• What does the soldier revert to when he realizes the danger?

  His instincts
• What era influenced Hughes' writing of "Bayonet Charge"?

  The post-war era
• What personal connection does Hughes have to WW1?

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

  The brutality of trench warfare
• Who inspired Hughes in his depiction of war?

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

  • Third person singular
  • Focuses on individual impact of war
  • Highlights isolation of soldiers
• How does the third person perspective affect the reader's view of war?

  It shows the horrific reality of war
• What does the isolation of the soldier signify?

  His lack of help or comfort
• How does Hughes depict the soldier's emotional state?

  Desensitized to the harshness of war
• What structural elements does Hughes use in "Bayonet Charge"?

  • Chaotic structure mirrors war's chaos
  • Enjambment quickens the pace
  • Caesura slows down the second stanza
• What effect does enjambment have on the poem's pace?

  It quickens the pace of the poem
• What does the rhetorical question at the end of the first stanza imply?

  Questioning the soldier's choice in war
• How does caesura affect the second stanza's pace?

  It slows down the pace significantly
• What is the effect of repetition in "Bayonet Charge"?

  • Conveys intense suffering
  • Reminiscent of stuttering
  • Reflects breakdown in rationality
• How does Hughes use language in "Bayonet Charge"?

  • Combines body parts and violence
  • Dehumanizes the soldier
  • Blurs lines between human and weapon
• What does the soldier's rifle feel like?

  Numb as a smashed arm
• What does the phrase "cold clockwork of the stars and the nations" suggest?

  Humans as tools in war
• What does the imagery of the hare represent in the poem?

  The innocence lost in war
• What is the significance of the poem's opening line?

  • "Suddenly he awoke" thrusts reader into action
  • Reflects shock soldiers felt in battle
  • Establishes a tense atmosphere
• How does Hughes aim to evoke empathy in readers?

  • By portraying the reality of war
  • Inciting emotions created by war
  • Allowing readers to experience war through poetry
• What does Hughes combine in his lexis to convey the soldier's experience?

  Lexis from body parts and violence
• How does Hughes use metaphors in his poetry about soldiers?

  To dehumanize soldiers and blur human-weapon lines
• What does the term “lugged” imply about the soldier?

  He is physically unprepared for war
• What does “smacking” suggest in Hughes' poetry?

  It conveys aggression and violence
• How does the term “statuary” describe the soldier's state?

  He is frozen in fear
• What does the phrase “numb as a smashed arm” signify?

  Desensitization to the horror of war
• What does the personification of the air as having a “belly” suggest?

  Confusion in the situation of war
• How does Hughes depict soldiers in the context of war?

  As tools used by the government
• What does the mixing of roles in the poem illustrate?

  The meaningless waste of human life
• How does Hughes use similes to portray the soldier's experience?

  By likening his rifle to a smashed arm
• What does the simile “sweating like molten iron” convey?

  The painful loss of patriotism

  
• What does the phrase “dropped like human luxuries” imply?

  Abandonment of values in war
• How does Hughes use alliteration in “cold clockwork”?

  To reinforce the mechanical nature of war
• What does the hare symbolize in “Bayonet Charge”?

  Soldiers' collective suffering