Bayonet Charge

Question 1

What happened to the solider is Stanza 1

Answer 1

The soldier is thrust into the battlefield unprepared. The soldier is taking in the devastation around him, as he clumsily moves onward

Question 2

Why did the soldiers stop in stanza 2

Answer 2

The soldier stops and deliberates why he is in that situation and how important his sacrifice would truly be. The soldier questions why he is still running

Question 3

Why did the soldier jolt back to reality in stanza 3

Answer 3

The soldier is jolted back to reality after seeing a hare suffering and dying a slow, painful death. The soldier jumps out of the way choosing to live and save himself over sacrificing himself for his country.

Question 5

How did the authors father influence their thoughts and feelings on war in Bayonet charge

Answer 5

Not alive during WW1, father fought in war, which may influence his thoughts and feelings on war

Question 6

How did the Author growing up in Yorkshire in a post war society impact them in Bayonet Charge

Answer 6

Home front impact: grew up in Yorkshire in a post-War society, not fighting in war but seeing the effects of war on his humble rural home

Question 7

What collection is Bayonet charge from

Answer 7

From a collection of poems called “ The Hawk in the Rain”

Question 8

What does Bayonet charge focus on

Answer 8

The anthology focuses mainly on animals and their behaviours. This focus on animalistic is seen with the poems focus on instinctual behaviours

Question 9

How does the quote “Patriotic tear” link in the theme of Reality of war

Answer 9

inner conflict and sadness

Question 10

How does the quote ‘‘king, honour, human dignity” link to the reality of war

Answer 10

Asyndetic listing to mock patriotism:” king, honour, human dignity”, shows futility of it as
“dropped like human luxuries”

Question 11

How does “Human” link to the reality of war

Answer 11

“Human” may be Hughes showing how it is a human trait to convince an organism to give up its life for a cause that actually has minimal effect on it.

Question 12

How does the use of the Harsh alliterative consonants in “cold clockwork” link to the reality of war

Answer 12

Uses harsh alliterative consonants in “cold clockwork” to re emphasise the mechanical and emotionless nature of war.

Question 13

What does the reality of expose

Answer 13

exposes how the patriotism that often compels people to go to war leaves them once they witness the visceral brutality of it.

Question 14

How does the reality of war link to the blind suffering BC

Answer 14

Due to endlessly continue to commence,blind to the suffering it causes

Question 15

How is the the theme of nature illustrated through Bayonet charge

Answer 15

Typical trope within collection to show the depiction of war’s brutal and dehumanizing effects on a soldier.

Question 16

How is the theme of nature illustrate by a hare and what is it symbolic of in Bayonet charge

Answer 16

Hare symbolic of soldier’s mass suffering

Question 17

How does the quote “Threshing circle” and “wide open, silent” link to the theme of nature in Bayonet charge

Answer 17

Agricultural imagery of “threshing circle” may be alluding to how the soldiers are almost harvested

They are indiscriminately cut down and killed whereas the “silence” of the hare may be referring to how the soldiers are unable to speak on their plight

Question 18

How and why does Hughes use the quote “Shot _______ furrows” to illustrate nature in Bayonet charge

Answer 18

“Shot slashed furrows” Hughes uses alliteration here to emphasise the repetition of damage to nature and the unnatural way nature becomes extinct from war.

Question 19

How and why does the quote “lugging a rifle as numb as a smashed arm” link to the theme of the Dehumanisation of soldiers in Bayonet Charge

Answer 19

Simile shows they’re dehumanised instruments of war. The rifle has become an extension of himself as he is merely a weapon of war.

Question 20

How and why does the quote “smashed” link to the theme of the Dehumanisation of soldiers in Bayonet Charge

Answer 20

“smashed” connotes damage, highlighting the universal helpless feeling a solider endures when they have been physically and mentally damaged by war

Question 21

How and why does the quote “sweating like molten iron”.link to the theme of the Dehumanisation of soldiers in Bayonet charge

Answer 21

Simile “sweating like molten iron”. As metal is a key component in war, show how the soldier is no longer human, rather he is just a small part of the war machine

Question 22

How and why does the quote “suddenly he awoke and was running” link to the theme of the Dehumanisation of soldiers In Bayonet Charge

Answer 22

Begins in media res with “suddenly he awoke and was running” - thrusted into a dangerous situation with no regard of his humanity

Question 23

What is the impact of the form being in Third person in Bayonet charge

Answer 23

Third personal singular- impact of one person’s perspective, infathomable the amount of people who endure it

Impossible to view war favourably- soldier’s abject terror rubs off on reader

Question 24

How is the form of the Lack of rhyme scheme impactful in Bayonet Charge

Answer 24

Clear lack of rhyme mimicking the lack of regularity in their experiences of war.

• Unpredictability is paramount to a soldier’s experience so he wants his reader to experience this

Question 25

How does enjambment keep the reader panicked in Bayonet Charge

Answer 25

First stanza one continuous sentence, this maintain the cadence of the bayonet charge with the reader feeling similarly panicked. • The end stops in the first stanza may be used to emulate the panic of the soldier when confronted with their belligerent duty

Question 26

How does the structure of Caesura affect Bayonet Charge

Answer 26

Slows the pace of the poem, in the second stanza this is salient as the soldier is deliberating the war

Question 27

How is the theme of the Dehumanisation of soldiers similar in Bayonet Charge and Exposure

Answer 27

BC= machines of war, questioning their position. Exposure= question the war and its futility

Question 28

How is the theme of the Dehumanisation of soldiers different in Bayonet Charge and Exposure

Answer 28

BC= human desire to survive. • Exposure= darker image of soldier's who have no desire to survive

Question 29

What is the similarities between Bayonet Charge and Exposure (context)

Answer 29

Describe WW1 and its futility

Question 30

What is the differences between Bayonet Charge and Exposure (context)

Answer 30

Exposure-written during the actual war- more gritty description

Question 31

How are the themes of Remains and Bayonet charge Similar

Answer 31

BC= soldiers tools of war • Remains= soldier sent into battle with no thought of the long term impact on him

Question 32

How is the themes of Remains and Bayonet charge different

Answer 32

BC= Focused on the charge of the soldier • Remains= focused on the effects of conflict

Question 33

How is the form of Bayonet Charge and Remains similar

Answer 33

Both begin in media res to emulate the soldier's panic and confusion

Question 34

How is the form of Bayonet Charge and Remains different

Answer 34

BC= 7-8-7 structure mimics changing opinions of soldier • Remains= 4 regular line stanzas

Question 35

How is the structure of BC and Remains similar

Answer 35

Both use enjamoment to show the disjointed nature of their respective conflicts

Question 36

How is the structure of BC and Remains different

Answer 36

• BC= longer line lengths to show the extent of the inner turmoil of the soldier • Remains= shorter sentence lengths to show how his mind is disintegrating

Question 37

How is the context of remains and Bayonet charge similar

Answer 37

Writing experiences of conflict and the though processes of soldiers

Question 38

How is the context of remains and Bayonet charge different

Answer 38

BC= WW1 • Remains= Iraq 2003 war.