Summary
Highlights
Ted Hughes (1930-1998) was a famous poet, known for his work on animals and nature. Notably, his father served in World War I, and Hughes himself was deeply affected by the war's impact on his community and admired Wilfred Owen's poetry. 'Bayonet Charge' is a World War I poem, written by Hughes who was not alive during the war.
The poem is divided into three verses, depicting a soldier charging, then stopping to contemplate, and finally focusing on a hare caught in battle. The central theme of the poem is the indescribable horror of war, suggesting that war is so terrible it cannot be adequately communicated.
The poem begins abruptly with 'Suddenly', throwing the reader into the action and mirroring the soldier's confusion. Enjambment (sentences spanning multiple lines or verses) and caesura (sentences ending mid-line) are used extensively to create a disjointed, chaotic structure, reflecting the disorder and struggle experienced by the soldier.
The repetition of 'raw' in the opening lines can imply the soldier's shock and difficulty in expression. More significantly, Hughes' use of repetition and other linguistic similarities (e.g., 'lying easy, were at ease' and 'raw in raw-seamed hot khaki') serve as an allusion to Wilfred Owen's 'Spring Offensive', suggesting that Hughes, to convey the indescribable horror of war, relied on the experience of those who were there, like Owen.
Hughes deliberately makes the poem difficult to read and understand, using complex language and structure. This mirrors the soldier's struggle and confusion, allowing the reader to empathize with the challenging experience of war.
The poem is filled with similes, which are comparisons used when direct description is insufficient. This extensive use of similes reinforces the theme that war is so horrific it cannot be directly described, only likened to other things. Images like 'Bullets smacking the belly out of the air' personify nature as a victim of war, linking to Hughes's passion for the outdoors.
The 'yellow hare' in the final verse is another mysterious image, possibly linking to cowardice or simply being another natural victim of the war. The phrase 'in what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations' suggests both astrology and government have no real interest in the individual soldier, who is merely a 'cog in a machine'.
The line 'The patriotic tear... Sweating like molten iron' shows the soldier's initial patriotism replaced by panic. The phrase 'King, honour, human dignity, etcetera' is a mocking critique of noble virtues, suggesting they are irrelevant in the face of battle. The consistent use of 'he' rather than a named character implies the poem is a general critique of war, not about one specific soldier.
Despite his questions and objections, the soldier continues to run, becoming a 'killing machine'. The alliterative metaphor 'His terror’s touchy dynamite' encapsulates the danger and destructive potential the soldier now embodies, highlighting his transformation under the duress of war.