Bayonet Charge

1. Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes
Bayonet - a knife attached to the end of a rifle.
Context – World War One
Although it was written much later, the poem is set
during World War One. It describes a soldier going ‘over
the top’ - this was when soldiers climbed out of their
trenches and charged towards enemy lines, carrying their
bayonets. These charges usually resulted in heavy
casualties.

2. 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 –
He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm;
The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye
Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest, -
Just woken up – in a confused
and vulnerable state. It seems
like a nightmare but it is real.
Suggests discomfort but
also lack of experience –
he may be young.
SIMILE – suggests his rifle
is useless and foreshadows
the injuries he might get.
Violent IMAGERY and
onomatopoeia
describes the sound of
the gun fire.
Repeated ‘h’ sound –
copies the soldiers heavy
breathing as he runs.
His patriotism (love for his country) has turned to fear
and pain – his ideas of being a hero have been ruined
by reality.

3. 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
Emphasises the soldier’s insignificance
and his lack of control of his situation.
“Cold” implies that the people in charge
of the war don’t care about individual
soldiers.
This stanza pauses the
action and focuses on the
soldier wondering why he is
there.
Caesura (pause) ends his
period of thought and forces
him to return to reality.
Group of statues – SIMILE - it’s as if the
soldier is turned to stone by his shock and
confusion.
SIMILE – creates an
image of someone blind
and irrational – suggests
there’s no rational
reason for war.

4. 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 .
An upsetting image of out-of-
control movement. “Threshing”
is a farming term when crops are
beaten. This suggests that nature
is affected by war.
SIMILE – emphasises the hare’s
frantic movement and hints at the
danger the solider is in.
These are the reasons that
persuade people to go to
war. Using “etcetera”
suggests they’re not even
worth listing.
Suggests that the
pain and fear can’t
be expressed.
He’s been reduced to a basic
level – he’s attacking out of
depression, not because he
believes in what he is doing.
The soldier seems to have
become a weapon rather
than a human being. He’s
driven purely by terror.
Natural IMAGE
contrasts with the
violence and
terror of war.

5. Meaning: The poem is against patriotism and shows how fear and terror become the only emotions in a battle.
Fear is the soldier’s only motivation. It also shows the soldier’s confusion caused by the gunfire. He
questions what he’s doing there at all.
Subject: The poem is about a single soldier’s experience of a charge towards enemy lines. It describes his
thoughts and actions.
Imagery: Violent imagery – the sights and sounds of war.
Natural imagery - the references to nature show the natural setting of the battle. The natural world is
also affected by war.
Language: Conflict/Nature – vocabulary of war, violence and confusion – also the effect on nature.
Simile – to emphasise the violence and confusion of the battle.
Emotion: Terror and pain- seen through the soldier’s thoughts and feelings.
Confusion – He is disoriented by the gunfire, but also confused about what he’s doing there.
Structure: Poem starts in the middle of the action.
First stanza -instinct and movement.
Second stanza - is a pause – mirroring the soldier as he stops to think.
Stanza three -the soldier seems to have given up.
There is an irregular rhythm to poem which mirrors the soldier struggling to run through the mud.