bayonet charge

Question 1

summary

Answer 1

-Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes describes the few desperate moments of a soldier’s charge against a defended position, dramatising the feelings of fear, dislocation and confusion.

Question 2

context

Answer 2

-concentrates on the battles of First World War. Hughes had spent time in the military as a mechanic before going to university but his father had served in and survived the First World War.

Question 3

intention

Answer 3

• Hughes wanted to highlight the brutality of trench warfare as a tribute to his father’s suffering as well as a way to memorialize war as a warning for future generations. This poem was greatly inspired by Wilfred Owen who similarly tries to depict the reality of war in his poetry.

Question 4

techniques

Answer 4

• Enjambment:This constant, uninterrupted flow reflects the fast pace and chaos of the moment
• ‘cold clockwork’: alliteration

Question 5

theme

Answer 5

-The soldier’s overriding emotion and motivation is fear, which has replaced the more patriotic ideals that he held before the violence began.

Question 6

effect

Answer 6

illustrates the horrible experience of one unnamed solidier and presents the effects of war on him as being completely negative. By beginning it with ‘suddenly he awoke,’ Hughes immediately throws the readers thought into the chaos of war

Question 7

language

Answer 7

-Alliteration is a prominent device in “Bayonet Charge.” Throughout the poem, groups of shared sounds are used to help the poem convey a violent atmosphere, the loudness of those sounds reflecting the noise and chaos of the battlefield. These sounds work hard to bring the image to life.

Question 8

structure

Answer 8

• written in the 3rd person.
• The poem has an irregular rhythm, reflecting panic or struggle
• l feelings of pride at the start of the poem soon to turn to fear.