Bayonet Charge

Opening in medias res: The poem starts mid-action with the soldier already running. What impact does this sudden, disorienting opening have on the reader? How does it reflect the soldier's own experience?

Sensory imagery: Hughes employs vivid, visceral imagery throughout — "his foot hung like / Statuary in mid-stride." What does this simile imply about the soldier's state of mind and the nature of time in combat?

Loss of identity and purpose: The soldier's patriotic ideals ("King, honour, human dignity, etcetera") are dismissed with the word "etcetera." What does this choice of word reveal about how war diminishes meaning and motivation?

Nature in the poem: A hare appears briefly, "rolled like a flame" and "crawling on all fours." How does Hughes utilize this image of a wounded animal to comment on the human cost of war?

Dehumanisation: By the poem's end, the soldier is reduced to pure instinct — "his terror's touchy dynamite." How does Hughes illustrate the process of dehumanisation in warfare, and what feelings does this evoke in the reader?

Comparison with other war poetry: How does Hughes's depiction of a soldier's experience contrast with other war poems you have studied (e.g., Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est)? What similarities or differences can you identify in their methods and messages?

Form and structure: The poem lacks a regular rhyme scheme or meter. How does this absence of formal structure mirror the chaos and unpredictability of battle?

Opening in medias res: The poem starts with "Suddenly" — how does this sudden beginning affect the reader, and what impact does it have on the pace and sense of disorientation?

The soldier's motivation: As the soldier runs, Hughes indicates that "king, honour, human dignity, etcetera" had "dropped like luxuries." What does this reveal about what motivates a soldier in the heat of battle, and how does it challenge romantic or patriotic notions of war?

Imagery and the body: Hughes employs striking physical imagery — "his foot hung like / Statuary in mid-stride" and "his terror's touchy dynamite." How does the poet use the body to express the soldier's psychological and emotional state?

Nature in the poem: The hare appears briefly but powerfully — "a yellow hare that rolled like a flame / And crawled in a threshing circle." What role does nature play in the poem, and what might the hare symbolize?

Loss of identity: By the end of the poem, the soldier seems to have lost all thought and purpose beyond mere survival. How does Hughes illustrate the dehumanizing effect of war on individual identity?

Comparison: How might this poem's depiction of a soldier compare to other war poems you have studied? What makes Hughes's approach unique?