Bayonet Charge BY TED HUGHES (1930 – 1998) GCSE Bitesize http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetryconflict/bayonetcharge1.shtml

Pronoun keeps soldier’s identify anonymous and universal Bayonet Charge Notice the impact of the adverb “suddenly” as the first word in the poem. Suddenly he awoke and was running – raw In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy, Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge That dazzled with rifle fire, hearing Bullets smacking the belly out of the air – Personification He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm; Similes The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest, – Dash affects meaning and pace Double meaning: Discomfort & Inexperienced Soldier struggles to run and carry rifle. Irony of patriotism that sent him to war

In bewilderment then he almost stopped – In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations Was he the hand pointing that second? He was running Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs Listening between his footfalls for the reason Of his still running, and his foot hung like Statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed furrows Dash shows soldier’s hesitation. Note purpose of alliteration and consonance. Soldier is turned to stone by his bewilderment. Caesura ends period of thought and returns him to the action. Simile creates an image of someone blind and irrational—just like war. Metaphor of the clock shows that the soldier questions the bureaucracy that sent him to war; thus, it is “cold.”

Why has Hughes used this image of the hare? What does it represent? Note the effect of the simile. Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide Open silent, its eyes standing out. He plunged past with his bayonet toward the green hedge, King, honour, human dignity, etcetera Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm To get out of that blue crackling air His terror’s touchy dynamite. A “threshing circle” is an agricultural term suggesting that nature is also affected by war. This simile suggests that the original reasons for the soldier’s enlistment no longer hold any appeal. He hasn’t time to consider anything but staying alive, which is his real motivation. After noting the reasons for enlisting, the use of “etcetera” infers that there is no good reason—it’s just rhetoric.

Bayonet Charge is perhaps unusual for a Ted Hughes poem in that it focuses on a nameless soldier in the First World War (1914-18). It describes the experience of 'going over-the-top'. This was when soldiers hiding in trenches were ordered to 'fix bayonets' (attach the long knives to the end of their rifles) and climb out of the trenches to charge an enemy position 20 or 30 metres away. The aim was to capture the enemy trench. The poem describes how this process transforms a solider from a living thinking person into a dangerous weapon of war. Subject matter

Form and structure The poem is written in three stanzas. All three are filled with words and images, which could suggest the thick mud appropriate for a poem whose main theme is about a man running across a muddy field carrying a heavy gun. The length of the lines varies a lot. Hughes uses long and short lines to suggest the quick and slow progress of the soldier. The first stanza is all about action and running. The soldier is awake and running within six words of the opening line. The flow, however, is broken by the use of dashes "–" (three in the first stanza, one at the beginning of the second). This breaks up the flow of the poem and shows how the soldier is waking up to what is happening and slowly starting to think. The second stanza therefore happens in a kind of slow-motion (note the three lines that are broken in the middle by punctuation – lines 11, 14 and 15). The second half of line 15 breaks this spell and he knows he has to rush, without thinking, towards his death in the final stanza.

Punctuation The manner in which Hughes uses punctuation to alter the pace of the poem because it intensifies the soldier’s experience for the reader. The use of enjambment and caesura creates lines of uneven length creating an irregular rhythm that mirrors the soldier struggling to run through the mud. The poem begins in media res and covers the soldier’s movements and thoughts over a short space of time.

Language and imagery There is the frantic action of battle and the thick difficulty of the mud. In the middle of all this, there is the sudden fear and clear thoughts of the solider. These feelings are presented in images you can see as well as images you can hear.

Sound Hughes uses a dense repetition of words and sounds right from the beginning. For example, in stanza one he uses the alliteration of the 'h' sound that expresses the soldier's heavy breathing.

Imagery The rich descriptions contrast with where the solider is heading - a simple, almost childish description – line 3. Another form of contrast is between the imagery of war and the imagery of nature. Throughout the poem we have a background of farming and the natural world: line 3 and 16. The hare, however, becomes an image of death. Similes like those found in line 8 and bring a sense of hell to the battlefield.

Attitudes, themes and ideas This poem tries to step inside the body and mind of a soldier carrying out one of the most terrifying acts of this or any war: charging straight into rifle fire with the aim of killing enemy soldiers face- to-face. In doing so, Hughes dramatizes the struggle between a man's thoughts and actions. At the start of the poem the solider is instinctively obeying orders. In stanza two he has moments of clarity when he thinks about what he is doing and time seems to stop still. In the end, all high moral justifications such as king and country, have become meaningless. He himself becomes a form of human bomb, not a person but a weapon of war.

comparison Futility – this is another poem about the First World War trenches. It also deals with the horror of war, but from a different point of view. Owen considers the futility of war in a moment of peace. Hughes places his poem in the heat of the action. Futility is about mourning. Bayonet Charge is about dying. Both poems, however, use a contrast between war and nature to express their feelings. Belfast Confetti – this poem also tries to express the actual experience of conflict. It uses a range of language techniques to present feelings of fear and confusion. It also uses form and structure to convey the energy and noise of conflict. Being poets, both Carson and Hughes also show how language and thought become impossible when challenged by action and violence.

Sample question Whatever grade you are working towards, the basic structure of any answer will be the same: The introduction will explain the relevance of the question to the feelings the poem expresses and an overview of the story the poem tells. One paragraph covers form. One paragraph covers structure. One paragraph covers language (sound and verbal imagery). Conclusion: You then conclude on the meaning that emerges from this. For each point, you need to provide evidence (a quote or reference) and an explanation.

Prompt: How does the poet present the experience of conflict in Bayonet Charge?

Poetry V.I.T.A.L.S. Voice: Who is speaking in the poem? Imagery: What imagery is being created? How is it effective? Theme: What are the main themes featured in the poem? Address: To whom is the poem addressed? Language: What type of language/devices are used and what is their effect? Structure: How is the poem structured and what is the effect of this?

You could make the following points: Ted Hughes explores the experience of conflict by writing about a soldier in the middle of a battle. He uses form, structure and imagery to express feelings of noise, violence and confusion. The form looks regular: the stanzas are eight, seven and eight lines long: this suggests the soldier's strong sense of purpose as well as the thick mud he has to run through.

The length of the lines, however changes: there are long lines ending in his destination (lines 3 and 19) showing the long distance he has to run; there are also short lines presenting images of violence and fear (lines 4 and 18). The structure therefore shows the changing emotions of the soldier as he runs across towards the hedge. Outside he may look strong, but inside he is in turmoil. Hughes uses alliteration to express the strong feelings of the solider in battle: the 'r' in lines 1 and 2. He also uses strong nouns and adjectives which he pushes together to form expressive images: line 15. He uses similes to express a sense of hell on earth: lines 8 and 16. Finally, he ends with a metaphor to show how the thinking, feeling man has been transformed into a tool of battle that will kill or be killed.

Complete these P.E.E. paragraphs: The poet includes the quotation ‘patriotic tear’ because… This makes the reader think… Hughes describes the soldier as ‘sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest’. This makes the reader think… the writer picked ‘center’ of his chest because….