Bayonet Charge

• Bayonet Charge in a nutshell

  Bayonet Charge was written by British poet Ted Hughes and focuses on the thoughts and behaviour of a nameless soldier in World War I. The soldier is depicted mid-charge, and describes the experience of going “over the top”, which meant soldiers climbing out of their trenches to charge an enemy position through No Man's Land, with the aim of capturing an enemy trench. 

  The poem tries to step inside the body and mind of the soldier having to carry out one of the most terrifying acts of war: charging straight into enemy rifle fire. The poem explores the conflict between a sense of patriotism and the pointlessness of war, even though Hughes himself wasn’t alive during World War I. He grew up in a post-war era, and his poems were a way for him to make sense of the events he never saw but which impacted him and the country.
• Bayonet Charge breakdown

  Lines 1-8

  “Suddenly he awoke and was running - raw

  In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy,

  Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge

  That dazzled with rifle fire, hearing

  Bullets smacking the belly out of the air - 

  He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm;

  The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye

  Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest,-”
• Translation

  • The poem opens in media res - in the middle of the action
  • He is described as “suddenly” awake, suggesting that he could have been asleep or daydreaming
  • However, it is more likely that this is a metaphorical way of saying that the soldier suddenly became aware of the horror and chaos around him
  • The figure is clearly a soldier, as he is dressed in his khaki uniform, which can rub his skin raw
  • “Raw” probably also references the raw emotion of fear he is experiencing
  • The soldier stumbles across lumps of earth towards a hedge
  • Even though the hedge is lit up with rifle fire, he continues to run towards it anyway, with bullets flying all around him
  • He struggles to run with the weight of his rifle
  • The final two lines suggest an actual tear in the soldier’s eye, from the pain, fear and exertion
  • But this could also refer to the loss of his sense of patriotism, painfully leaving his body like molten iron
• Hughes’s intention

  • The fact that Hughes deliberately starts the poem in the middle of the action foreshadows the soldier’s realisation that comes later in the poem: that patriotism and fighting for one’s country is actually a hollow concept that means little in reality
  • It also is a device designed to confuse the reader, reflecting the atmosphere of confusion and disorientation the soldier is experiencing
  • The repetition of the word “raw” emphasises the discomfort and pain of the experience, as well as the soldier’s emotions, which are strong and undisguised
  • The description of the rifle fire that “dazzled” suggests the soldier’s vision is blurred to begin with
  • The fact that the hedge is “green” seems out of place, reflecting the idea that this war happened in fields and out in the countryside, which does not feel natural
  • Hughes personifies the bullets as violent and terrifying
• • The change in the way the soldier feels about his position begins to be symbolised by the weight of his rifle
  • The fact that the “patriotic tear” was no longer in his eye, but coming “from the centre of his chest” in the form of sweat, reveals that while the soldier was once proud to wear his uniform and carry his weapon held high, with a tear of patriotism in his eye, he was now not feeling any sense of patriotism or pride
  • He can only feel the weight of his bayonet and the hot sweat on his chest, as though he were numb
• Lines 9-15

  “In bewilderment then he almost stopped - 

  In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations

  Was he the hand pointing that second? He was running

  Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs

  Listening between his footfalls for the reason

  Of his still running, and his foot hung like

  Statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed furrows”
• Translation

  • In his confusion, the soldier nearly stops
  • He wonders what cold and unfeeling forces, be they fate or politics, are governing his actions, as if he were nothing more than the hand of a clock
  • He runs like a man suspended in the dark, hoping to find the answer in the act of running itself
  • Time seems to slow down, and his foot hangs in the middle of his stride as if it were a statue
  • The “shot-slashed furrows” are the trenches dug into the battlefield
• Hughes’s intention

  • In this stanza, the soldier suddenly comes to his senses
  • He stands in “bewilderment” as he begins to wonder why he is there
  • Hughes’s reference to “cold” suggests something that is emotionless and unfeeling, and his reference to “clockwork” indicates timing
  • This suggests that it is nothing more than bad timing that has brought him to this place
  • “The stars” refers to fate or destiny, implying that it was simply the way the stars were aligned at the time of his birth that determined his place in this current war
  • “The nations” could refer to politics or the countries at war with one another
  • Ultimately, the soldier believes he is nothing more than a cog in the machine
  • The answer to why he is there does not come to him, so his feet simply stop mid-stride
  • Hughes here is commenting on the reality and futility of war, especially to those actually involved in it
• Lines 16-23

  “Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame

  And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide

  Open silent, its eyes standing out.

  He plunged past with his bayonet toward the green hedge,

  King, honour, human dignity, etcetera

  Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm

  To get out of that blue crackling air

  His terror’s touchy dynamite.”
• Translation

  • The previous stanza continues, personifying the furrows as throwing up a “yellow hare” frightened from its hiding place by the gunfire
  • The creature is clearly terrified, as it “rolled like a flame” and “crawled in a threshing circle”
  • The soldier pushes on, pointing the blade fixed to his rifle towards the green hedge
  • All notions of patriotism, fighting for the king or honour, fall away from the soldier, who cannot afford to entertain such luxuries in the chaos of battle
  • All that matters for him is to get out of the gunfire
  • The air explodes with blue light all around him, as he nervously reaches for his dynamite
• Hughes’s intention

  • The hare is the only other living creature that Hughes mentions in this poem
  • This innocent animal is caught up in the horror, reminding us that war is the opposite to what is natural and good
  • Hughes suggests, with its mouth “open silent” and “its eyes standing out”, that the hare’s last moments are spent in pain, terror and fear, much like the soldiers themselves
  • Therefore, the hare serves as a metaphor for the devastating impact war has on the natural world
  • Hughes could have also used the hare as a euphemism of the actual horror of death on a battlefield in World War I
  • Green as a colour is often used as a symbol of hope, so maybe if the soldier makes it there, he believes he will be safe
• • The “crackling” air suggests there is gunfire all around him
  • Hughes ends the poem on a cliff-hanger, with the soldier on adrenaline-fuelled alertness, feeling for his dynamite
  • His dynamite could also mean his bayonet - ultimately a weapon which has the ability to kill
  • It could also imply that the soldier himself has been dehumanised and turned into nothing more than a killing machine
  • We never learn of his fate
• Form

  Bayonet Charge is written in the third person singular, allowing the reader to focus on the individual impact of war by showing the way war impacts a single person. Even though war may be seen to be beneficial nationally, and serving in a war has traditionally been seen as honourable, the poem demonstrates that this does not excuse the suffering it inflicts on individual soldiers. This then reflects the key theme of patriotism and duty versus the harsh reality of war.

  
• Structure

  Hughes structures the poem into three stanzas, encompassing a short moment in time for the soldier, but uses enjambment and caesura to mirror the panic and chaos he experiences, and the chaotic nature of war. The poem reads as quite fragmented, serving to confuse the reader. This is representative of the confusion and struggle experienced by the soldier, and the chaos of war.

  
• Structure: Bayonet Charge

  
• Language

  Hughes employs rich but complex imagery which can make the poem difficult to read, and which highlights the difficult reality of war, as well as its conflict with the natural world. This is further reinforced by the use of pastoral imagery, suggesting that it is not just the soldiers who are victims of war, but also the natural world. The poet also uses language to explore the theme of the reality of war.

  
• Language: Bayonet Charge

  
• Language: Bayonet Charge

  
• Context: The Reality and Futility of War

  • Hughes never actually fought in a war
  • He was, however, very inspired by the poetry of Wilfred Owen, and borrowed many of his ideas as a way of understanding and describing the realities of war
  • Hughes’s father did fight in World War I, which left him emotionally traumatised for life
  • Life in the trenches of World War I was terrifying and extremely tough
  • It is thought that in this poem, Hughes wanted to highlight the brutality of trench warfare as a tribute to his father’s suffering, as well as to memorialise the war as a warning for future generations
  • The setting of the poem is not made explicit
  • This gives the poem more universal appeal
• • Hughes also tries to make his soldier come alive in a way that all readers could identify with
  • As his poetry was not drawn from direct combat experience, but rather from the post-war cultural atmosphere, Hughes explores the collective memory of the war
  • The soldier’s realisation in the poem of the pointlessness and absurdity of war mirrors the shift in the public mood during the war
  • This went from nervous excitement in the beginning to weariness and depression by the end
  • The poem also conveys the feeling of being subject to destiny and the soldier being a pawn in some greater game
  • Ultimately, Hughes presents war as horrific, wasteful and futile 
• Given that Bayonet Charge focuses mainly on the realities of war and patriotism, the following comparisons would be a good place to start:

  • Bayonet Charge and The Charge of the Light Brigade
  • Bayonet Charge and Exposure
• Bayonet Charge and The Charge of the Light Brigade

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  This comparison provides the opportunity to compare how those involved in war are treated. In The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tennyson focuses on the collective, whereas in Bayonet Charge, the focus is on the individual and his sense of isolation. However, in both poems, the soldiers’ actions are ultimately out of their own control.

  Similarities:

  
• Bayonet Charge and The Charge of the Light Brigade

  
• Bayonet Charge and The Charge of the Light Brigade. Differences:

  
• Bayonet Charge and The Charge of the Light Brigade. Differences:

  
• Bayonet Charge and Exposure

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  This comparison provides the opportunity to compare how a sense of duty imposed by patriotism disguises the true nature of war, and the harsh reality of actually taking part in a conflict. Both poems also reference the impact war has on nature.

  Similarities:

  
• Bayonet Charge and Exposure

  
• Bayonet Charge and Exposure. Differences:

  
• Bayonet Charge and Exposure. Differences: