Bayonet Charge Flashcards
(11 cards)
1
Q
what was the context for Bayonet charge ?
A
- Hughes grew up in a postwar era and saw its influence
- rural upbringing is evident in his poetry, focuses on animals
- studied mythology which is shown in the image of the yellow hare
- studied anthropology, shows the poems fixation on instinctual behavior
- greatly influenced by WW1 + WW2, poem was set in WW1 the poem was a way to make sense of the events he never saw but whose impacts were seen daily
- Hughes father was in WW1 1 of 17 to survive, Hughes wanted to display to brutality of war as a tribute to his father’s suffering and to memorialize war as warning to future generations
2
Q
what was the perspective of bayonet charge and how was it used for effect ?
A
- Third person singular narration creates a limited perspective, forcing the reader to focus on the personal, psychological impact of war on one individual rather than glorified collective heroism.
- The individual focus strips away nationalistic ideals, exposing how war, though honourable in theory, results in intense emotional and physical suffering for those who experience it firsthand.
- The poem highlights the isolation of the soldier, presenting him as the only human presence in a barren setting, which reflects his emotional detachment and vulnerability.
- Despite being part of an army, the soldier’s experience is shown as fundamentally solitary, centred on survival and self-preservation, while society later neglects those who return.
- The expected stoicism of soldiers is criticised—while they are told to suppress emotion, the poem reveals the internal turmoil and inability to share those feelings, suggesting emotional suppression is harmful.
- Hughes presents the soldier as desensitised to death, so much so that only nature’s violent force can pierce through his numbness, symbolising how war dehumanises and emotionally damages its victims.
3
Q
what was the structure for bayonet charge and how was it used for effect ?
A
- Hughes adopts a chaotic and irregular structure to mirror the confusion, panic, and disorder experienced by the soldier during war.
- Enjambment and caesura reflect the disjointed, unstable thought processes of the protagonist, as if his mind is fragmented under pressure.
- The poem transitions from action to introspection, symbolising the soldier’s mental shift from external warfare to internal psychological conflict.
- Hughes deliberately breaks the conventional stanza structure to reject order, echoing the soldier’s fractured state and the lack of control in the battlefield.
- The overall effect is to make the reader feel disoriented and overwhelmed, replicating the soldier’s emotional and sensory overload.
4
Q
what was the opening and the effect for bayonet charge ?
A
- The poem opens in medias res (“Suddenly he awoke”), immersing the reader into the immediate chaos and disorientation of the soldier’s experience.
- Hughes strips away clarity by using confusing and erratic syntax, mimicking the soldier’s muddled perception and uncertainty.
- Vivid imagery such as “raw in raw-seamed hot khaki” emphasises discomfort and physical suffering, grounding the poem in harsh realism.
- The repeated line “He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm” uses a disturbing simile to convey both emotional detachment and physical burden.
- This disorienting beginning reflects the soldier’s loss of purpose, revealing his lack of understanding or control over his actions in war.
5
Q
‘Patriotic tear’ - reality of war - bayonet charge
A
- came to war out of a sense of duty to protect his country
- illusion of the honour + pride in fighting, only when at the frontline the effects of propaganda wears off and true horror is realized
- patriotism leaving as he now knows the reality of war
6
Q
what are the quotes and analysis of the semantic field of body parts and violence ? -bayonet charge
A
- blurs line between what is human and what is a weapon, allows Hughes to suggest that humans are used as a weapon of war
- ‘Lugged’- implies he is not physically adept enough to carry, unprepared for the physical toll of war
- ‘Smacking’- aggression and violence - targeted at nature
- ‘Statuary’- like a statue - frozen in fear
- ‘blending of body and weapon’
7
Q
‘lugged a rifle as numb as a smashed arm’- bayonet charge
A
- Simile
- portrays the soldier as unprepared for war and unsuitable for his role by using a simile to liken his rifle to a smashed arm
- implies that the soldier seems disconnected from his weapon and uncomfortable holding it, showing his
physical unsuitability for his role. - rifle is presented to be numb and cold showing how unnatural the soldier deems committing acts of violence.
- six similes used in the poem, implying that there is no way for Hughes to accurately describe what war is like.
- As Hughes has no first hand experience of war, the only way he can describe it is to compare it to his own personal
experiences.
8
Q
‘sweating molten iron from the centre of his chest’ - Reality of war - bayonet charge
A
- shows how the patriotism he previously held in his heart leaves from the centre of his chest.
-idea of sweating molten iron has painful connotations showing how the soldier is physically pained by the realisation that his ideals have been disproven. - “his sweat heavy” shows how it is increasingly harder to fight once disillusioned and without patriotic motivation.
9
Q
‘King, honour, human dignity etcetera ‘ - Reality of war - bayonet charge
A
- asyndetic listing
- shows how the soldier gains honour from fighting for his king and country
- represents traditional patriotic values soldiers are taught to fight for—nationalism, pride, and noble sacrifice.
- disillusionment, as in the chaos of battle, such abstract concepts offer no comfort or motivation
- Hughes critiques how these lofty ideals are often used as propaganda to recruit soldiers, masking the brutal reality they will actually face.
- The phrase highlights the soldier’s mental shift: he no longer believes in what he was taught to value
10
Q
‘bullets smacking the belly out of air’ - bayonet charge
A
- nature seen as victim of war
- ‘smacking’- active verb - demonstrate violence inflicted on air
- ‘bullets’ ‘bully’ - plosive sound
- ‘belly’- personification of air - reader has sympathy for the effect of war on nature
11
Q
tell me about the hare in bayonet charge ? (Quotes, analysis)
A
- symbol- represents soldiers collective suffering
- projects violence of war onto an innocent animal caught up in war
- ’ threshing circle’ ‘mouth wide,open silent’ - suffering of humans soldiers are immune to, new type of suffering by an animal affects them
- hares suffering associated with the suffering just as a human
- just as an animal, humans in war resort to animal instincts
