Remains & Bayonet Charge

• What are the similarities between 'Remains' & 'Bayonet Charge'

  -They both present the psychological impact of war

  -They both criticise war

  -They both begin 'In Medias Res'
• What are the differences between 'Remains' & 'Bayonet Charge'?

  -In Remains, the speakers talks about the long-term impact of war; in Bayonet Charge, the speakers talks about the short-term impact of war

  -In Remains, it is written in 1st person; in Bayonet Charge, it is written in 3rd person
• How does 'Remains' show the psychological impact of war?

  -'But I blink and he bursts...'

  • Connotations of waking up. Impossible to distinguish between what is being awake and what is a dream/flashback. Having to blink to try and make out the difference.
  • Caesura provides finality. Going home should be the end of the impact the killing has on him. However the conjunctive “but” at the start of the second sentence shows how war continues to impact him even when he should be able to escape it.
• How does 'Bayonet Charge' show the psychological impact of war?

  'His terrors touchy dynamite'

  • An effective conclusion: the alliterative ’t' sounds represent his fear, as if the slightest touch will make him jump. The word ‘touchy’ suggests nerves stretched to the limit. ‘Dynamite’ represents the explosiveness of the weapons, and his equally explosive fear.
  • The length of the last four lines get progressively shorter, as if he is being consumed by the horror and words are disappearing in the face of overwhelming desperation to survive. He wants only to ‘get out’, to escape.
• How does 'Remains' criticise war?

  'tosses his guts back into his body...in the back of a lorry'

  • "tosses" connotes a lack of care or respect for the body, treating it like an object. Conflict causes the devaluation of human life – loss of sanctity.
  • It also suggests it is an action they are used to- a natural reaction. Rhyme between “body” and “lorry” adds fluidity – suggesting this is routine and they are used to it.
  • The colloquial language used suggests that the soldiers have become deadened and desensitised to the harsh realities of war- it's normal to them.
• How does 'Bayonet Charge' criticise war?

  -“sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest”

  • The patriotism he previously held in his heart leaves from the centre of his chest.
  • 'sweating molten iron' has painful connotations showing how the soldier is physically pained by the realisation that his ideals have been disproven.

  -“king, honour, human dignity, etcetera, dropped like human luxuries”

  • to show how the soldier gains honour from fighting for his king and country. These values are abandoned when the reality of war is revealed.
• How does 'Remains' use In Medias Res to show the realities of war?

  -'ON a
• How does 'Remains' use In Media Res to show the realities of war?

  'On another occasion, we get sent out'

  • Serves to confuse the reader as they initially don’t know what’s going on; this also mirrors the confusion of the soldier, who is not emotionally prepared for what will come next.
  • Armitage may be making a societal comment: soldiers are launched into situations they don’t fully understand, and there is a lack of compassion in the military for these individuals.
  • By opening in media res, the poem also reflects the chaos of war and how unpredictable it is.
• How does 'Bayonet Charge' use In Medias Res to show the realities of war?


  'Suddenly he awoke and was running'

  • The reader is left feeling confused and a tense atmosphere is established, which reflects the confusion and panic soldiers would have felt in war which allows the reader to relate to their experiences, and therefore empathise with them.
  • Hughes needs the readers to have essentially experienced war through his poetry, and the first step towards this is by inciting the emotions created by war, so the readers can understand what the soldier is experiencing.
• How does 'Remains' present the long-term impacts of war?

  'His bloody life in my bloody hands'

  • The later use of 'bloody' suggests that this event has ruined his life, and suggests he regrets killing him.
  • The speaker feels entirely responsible for the death, suggested through the reference to “hands”:
  • In literature, hands often serve as symbols of guilt. Shifted from sharing blame with others at the beginning of the poem to taking sole responsibility for the death of the other soldier, showing how PTSD can shift perspective, and how memory can be corrupted.
• How does 'Bayonet Charge' present the short-term effects of war?


  'In what cold clockwork...was he the hand pointing that second?'

  • “cold clockwork” shows the arbitrary yet inevitable nature of the war, in which nations found themselves drawn into conflict through political mismanagement.
  • The hard ‘c’s and 'k’ in ‘cold clockwork’ are alliterative and harsh. This long, slow line reflects the mechanical nature of the soldier’s experience, and the inexorable nature of war.
  • The “hand” could also represent God: He may be questioning why God would cause so much suffering.
• How does the use of 1st person in 'Remains' present the effects/reality of war?

  -'Well myself and somebody else and somebody else'

  • Repetition of “somebody else” could be a way of aleviating the soldier’s feelings of guilt; they were following orders and acting as a team. It suggests they are all in the same situation, suffering similar guilt.
  • Repetition of at the end of the poem ‘I’ shows the speakers guilt; he is taking responsibility for the man’s death. The regret displayed by the narrator demonstrates his own inner turmoil, suppressing his guilt.
• How does the 3rd person singular perspective present the realities of war in 'Bayonet Charge' (part 1)

  Gives a limited narrative perspective:

  • As it’s written from a soldier’s perspective, the reality of the war experience is horrific to the reader who finds it impossible to view war favourably.
  • Even though serving in a war is seen as honourable, the poem shows that this does not excuse the suffering it inflicts on individual soldiers.
• How does the 3rd person singular perspective present the realities of war in 'Bayonet Charge' (part 2)

  Emphasises the isolation felt by soldiers in war:

  • As the only human in the poem, the protagonist is isolated from any source of help or comfort, which helps to intensify the suffering of the speaker. This focuses the audience on the impact that war has on them.
  • This shows that despite fighting in an army a battle is about self-preservation and that they are ultimately on their own.
  • Moreover, soldiers are still neglected by the nation they fought for and are left to go back to society.
• How does the 3rd person singular perspective present the realities of war in 'Bayonet Charge' (part 3)

  'Threw up a yellow hare...its mouth wide, open silent'

  • The Hare is used as a symbol of soldiers’ collective suffering. Hughes projects the violence of war onto an innocent creature.
  • The explicit violence and graphic descriptions of war are provided through the hare’s “mouth wide, open silent”.
  • Hughes is trying to show that the soldier is so immune to the death of humans, that it takes a new kind of suffering for him to be shocked out of his trance and into instinctive action.