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Bayonet Charge Ted Hughes (Context (Father served in and survived in World…
Bayonet Charge Ted Hughes
Context
Ted Hughes was a 20th century poet
Father served in and survived in World War one
felt effects through his father
spent two years as a mechanic in the RAF
describes someone going 'over the top'
Form
poem uses enjambment and caesura, and has uneven length lines - creates an irregular rhythm, mirrors the soldier struggling to run through the mud
"Statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed furrows" - caesura ends his period of thought and forces him to return to reality
poet uses the third person pronoun "he" to keep him anonymous and can relate to any young soldier
Structure
poem starts in the middle of action and covers the soldiers movements and thoughts over a short period of time
"suddenly he awoke"
the first stanza sees the soldier actin on instict
time stand still in the second stanza soldier begins to think about his situation
in the final stanza, he gives up his thoughts and ideals and seems to have lost his humanity
"dropped like luxuries"
Violent imagery
"bullets smacking the belly out of the air" - sound and impact of the shots
"a rifle numb as a smashed arm" - rifle is useless and foreshadows the injuries he's likely to get
Figurative language
figurative language emphasises the horror and physical pain of the charge and to also question the point of war
"sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest"
"like a man who has jumped up in the dark"
Natural Imagery
uses natural imagery to remind people that the natural world is also being damaged by the war
"green hedge"
"and crawled in a threshing circle"
Attitudes
Terror
Confussion