Bayonet Charge- Ted Hughes Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is a bayonet?
A gun with a blade attached
What does the poem begin with?
In medias res - in the middle of action
> plunges the reader and solider into battle simultaneously
“In raw- seamed khaki….
his sweat heavy”
> raw connotes vulnerability in battle
> “his sweaty heavy” - hyperbole- emphasises the brutality of war
“Stumbling across a field of clods towards a….
Green hedge that dazzled with rifle fire”
> stumbling implies his disorientation
> field of clods- suggests that nature has yet again been destroyed by war and mankind
> “ green” connotes purity that the solider is running to, desperate for salvation and safety
> “ fire” biblical symbol of hell and what the solider is enduring
“Bullets smacking…
the belly out of the air”
> repetition of b sound- bilabial plosive alliteration creates harsh aggressive tone- mimics the sound of his heartbeat and how scared he is
> “smaking” - evokes readers senses so they are aware of the brutality of war
“He lugged a rifle…
As numb as a smashed arm”
> ironic- simile implies that the rifle the government of his country has given him cannot actually protect him
“The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye….
Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest”
> slowly loosing the love for his country
> past tense of “had” suggests that he once believed this propaganda but now knows it’s all a lie.
“ in what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations….
Was the hand pointing that second”
> time is a symbol of how the solider is aware of the restrictiveness of time
> CHREMOMORPHISM - realises he is nothing more than a tool of war and is being exploitive by powerful forces.
“Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame….
And crawled in a threshing circle”
> “ crawled” implies its innocence and lack of power in the situation
> “ threshing” moving in pain and suffering so intensely “ circle” implies that BOTH the hare and the solider are stuck in this cycle of pain
