"Bayonet Charge" was written by British poet Ted Hughes and published in Hughes's first collection, The Hawk in the Rain (1957). Set in the heat of battle, the poem focuses on the thoughts and behavior of a soldier in World War I. This soldier is depicted mid-charge, his bayonet (that is, the blade attached to this end of his gun) primed to attack the enemy. However, he has an epiphany during his charge and suddenly questions why he's there in the first place. Old notions like patriotism and honor seem to fade away as the soldier confronts the absurd reality of war—and of the likelihood of his own death.
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The Full Text of “Bayonet Charge”
The Full Text of “Bayonet Charge”
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“Bayonet Charge” Summary
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“Bayonet Charge” Themes
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The Senselessness of War and Patriotism
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-23
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Bayonet Charge”
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Lines 1-5
Suddenly he awoke ...
... the air – -
Lines 6-8
He lugged a ...
... his chest, – -
Lines 9-11
In bewilderment then ...
... pointing that second? -
Lines 11-15
He was running ...
... Statuary in mid-stride. -
Lines 15-18
Then the shot-slashed ...
... eyes standing out. -
Lines 19-23
He plunged past ...
... terror’s touchy dynamite.
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“Bayonet Charge” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Suddenly,” “running,” “raw”
- Line 2: “raw-seamed,” “hot,” “his,” “sweat,” “heavy”
- Line 3: “Stumbling,” “across,” “clods,” “hedge”
- Line 5: “Bullets,” “belly”
- Line 10: “cold clockwork”
- Line 11: “he,” “hand”
- Line 13: “reason”
- Line 14: “running,” “his,” “hung”
- Line 15: “Statuary,” “stride,” “slashed”
- Line 18: “silent,” “standing”
- Line 19: “plunged past”
- Line 21: “like luxuries”
- Line 23: “terror’s touchy”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “raw”
- Line 2: “raw,” “hot,” “sweat heavy”
- Line 3: “across,” “clods”
- Line 4: “rifle fire”
- Line 6: “lugged,” “numb,” “as,” “smashed”
- Line 7: “brimmed in his,” “eye”
- Line 8: “Sweating,” “like,” “molten,” “iron,” “centre,” “chest”
- Line 9: “almost,” “stopped”
- Line 10: “cold,” “clockwork”
- Line 12: “jumped up”
- Line 13: “between,” “reason”
- Line 17: “wide”
- Line 18: “silent,” “eyes”
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Caesura
Where caesura appears in the poem:- Line 1: “running – raw”
- Line 2: “khaki, his”
- Line 4: “fire, hearing”
- Line 11: “second? He”
- Line 14: “running, and”
- Line 15: “mid-stride. Then”
- Line 17: “circle, its”
- Line 18: “silent, its”
- Line 20: “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “running,” “raw”
- Line 2: “raw-seamed hot khaki,” “his sweat heavy”
- Line 3: “Stumbling across,” “field,” “clods towards,” “hedge”
- Line 4: “dazzled,” “rifle fire,” “hearing”
- Line 5: “Bullets smacking,” “belly”
- Line 6: “lugged,” “rifle,” “numb,” “smashed arm”
- Line 7: “patriotic tear,” “brimmed”
- Line 8: “Sweating like molten,” “centre,” “chest”
- Line 9: “almost stopped”
- Line 10: “cold clockwork,” “stars”
- Line 11: “he,” “hand”
- Line 12: “man,” “jumped up,” “runs”
- Line 13: “Listening between,” “footfalls for,” “reason”
- Line 14: “running”
- Line 15: “Statuary,” “stride,” “shot-slashed”
- Line 16: “yellow,” “rolled like,” “flame”
- Line 17: “crawled,” “circle”
- Line 18: “silent,” “standing out”
- Line 19: “plunged past”
- Line 21: “like luxuries,” “yelling alarm”
- Line 22: “blue crackling”
- Line 23: “terror’s touchy dynamite”
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End-Stopped Line
Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:- Line 2: “heavy,”
- Line 5: “air –”
- Line 6: “arm;”
- Line 8: “chest, –”
- Line 9: “stopped –”
- Line 18: “out.”
- Line 19: “hedge,”
- Line 23: “dynamite.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “raw / In”
- Lines 3-4: “hedge / That”
- Lines 4-5: “hearing / Bullets”
- Lines 7-8: “eye / Sweating ”
- Lines 10-11: “nations / Was”
- Lines 11-12: “running / Like”
- Lines 12-13: “runs / Listening”
- Lines 13-14: “reason / Of”
- Lines 14-15: “like / Statuary”
- Lines 15-16: “furrows / Threw”
- Lines 16-17: “flame / And”
- Lines 17-18: “wide / Open”
- Lines 20-21: “etcetera / Dropped”
- Lines 21-22: “alarm / To”
- Lines 22-23: “air / His”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 5: “Bullets smacking the belly out of the air”
- Lines 10-11: “In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations / Was he the hand pointing that second?”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “raw”
- Line 2: “raw”
- Line 3: “green hedge”
- Line 4: “rifle”
- Line 6: “rifle”
- Line 11: “running”
- Line 12: “runs”
- Line 14: “running”
- Line 19: “green hedge”
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Lines 10-11: “In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations / Was he the hand pointing that second?”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Line 6: “He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm”
- Lines 7-8: “The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye / Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest,”
- Lines 11-15: “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.”
- Lines 15-16: “Then the shot-slashed furrows / Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame”
- Lines 20-21: “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera / Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm”
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“Bayonet Charge” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Raw-seamed
- Khaki
- Clods
- Lugged
- Bewilderment
- Footfalls
- Statuary
- Furrows
- Threshing circle
- Bayonet
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(Location in poem: Line 2: “raw-seamed”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Bayonet Charge”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Bayonet Charge” Speaker
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“Bayonet Charge” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Bayonet Charge”
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More “Bayonet Charge” Resources
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External Resources
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Plath and Hughes Interviewed — A fascinating discussion with Ted Hughes and the American poet (and Hughes's wife) Sylvia Plath.
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A Documentary about Hughes — A BBC show about Hughes's life and work.
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Ted Hughes and War — An interesting article about Ted Hughes's war poems.
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Ted Hughes at the British Library — More resources and a biography of Hughes, from the British Library.
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The Bayonet — An insightful look at the history of the bayonet and its role in warfare.
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Hughes's Life and Work — Resources from the Poetry Foundation on More Poems and Biography
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Ted Hughes
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