Bayonet Charge

Poet

TED HUGHES

Context

  • During World War I, soldiers were equipped with bayonets that were attached to the end of their rifles.
  • They could use these weapons for both close and distant combat.

Plot

  • This poem begins mid action, a trope called__ ‘in media res’ __- the Latin, which literally translates to ‘in the middle of things’ - with a man running towards a hedge.
  • He is struggling to run across the field, which slows him down.
  • He becomes very thoughtful, pondering on why and how he has found himself in this situation.
  • He pauses to watch a yellow hare that is thrown up before him.
  • This reminds him how transient life is and is symbolic of his perilous situation.

Form

  • Blank verse
  • Enjambment
  • Caesura
  • Varied line length
  • Reflecting the soldier’s journey and pace
  • Past tense

Structure

  • Three stanzas

Language

  • Alliteration
  • Onomatopoeia
  • Personification
  • Metaphor
  • Rhetorical question
  • Listing

Tone

  • Patriotic
  • Fear
  • Disillusionment
  • Cynicism

Themes

  • Power of humans
  • Power of nature
  • War
  • Death