AQA GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE
Context
Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
Ted Hughes was a famous war poet. However, as he was not alive during WW1
and was a child during WW2, he never fought or saw war first-hand. Instead,
Hughes grew up in the post-war era and saw its influence in his home in
Yorkshire. This rural upbringing is evident in his poetry which usually focuses on
animals. Hughes studied mythology which is shown in the image of the yellow
hare as well as anthropology which is shown through the poem’s fixation on
instinctual behaviour. The poem is from the collection “The Hawk in the Rain”
which was dedicated to his wife, Sylvia Plath. The poems in the collection were
focused on the real and symbolic lives of animals.
Bayonet Charge
Hughes was writing in a post-war era that was greatly influenced by WW1 and
WW2. The poem was published in 1957 but was set in WW1. His poems are a way
for him to make sense of the events he never saw but whose impacts were seen
daily Hughes’ father fought in WW1 and was one of only seventeen Lancaster
Fusiliers to survive the Gallipoli campaign, leaving him emotionally traumatised
for life. It is thought that in Bayonet Charge Hughes wanted to highlight the
brutality of trench warfare as a tribute to his father’s suffering as well as a way to
This
memorialise war as a warning for future generations.
poem tries to step inside
the body and mind of a
, soldier carrying out one of
the most
terrifying acts of this or any
war: charging straight into
rifle fire with the aim of
killing enemy
soldiers face-to-face. In
doing so, Hughes
dramatises the struggle
between a man's thoughts
and actions.
At the start of the poem the
solider is instinctively
obeying orders. In stanza
two he has
Context
Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
Ted Hughes was a famous war poet. However, as he was not alive during WW1
and was a child during WW2, he never fought or saw war first-hand. Instead,
Hughes grew up in the post-war era and saw its influence in his home in
Yorkshire. This rural upbringing is evident in his poetry which usually focuses on
animals. Hughes studied mythology which is shown in the image of the yellow
hare as well as anthropology which is shown through the poem’s fixation on
instinctual behaviour. The poem is from the collection “The Hawk in the Rain”
which was dedicated to his wife, Sylvia Plath. The poems in the collection were
focused on the real and symbolic lives of animals.
Bayonet Charge
Hughes was writing in a post-war era that was greatly influenced by WW1 and
WW2. The poem was published in 1957 but was set in WW1. His poems are a way
for him to make sense of the events he never saw but whose impacts were seen
daily Hughes’ father fought in WW1 and was one of only seventeen Lancaster
Fusiliers to survive the Gallipoli campaign, leaving him emotionally traumatised
for life. It is thought that in Bayonet Charge Hughes wanted to highlight the
brutality of trench warfare as a tribute to his father’s suffering as well as a way to
This
memorialise war as a warning for future generations.
poem tries to step inside
the body and mind of a
, soldier carrying out one of
the most
terrifying acts of this or any
war: charging straight into
rifle fire with the aim of
killing enemy
soldiers face-to-face. In
doing so, Hughes
dramatises the struggle
between a man's thoughts
and actions.
At the start of the poem the
solider is instinctively
obeying orders. In stanza
two he has
