Kamikaze and Bayonet Charge Comparison

Alternative transcript:

start of the poem, society is supportive of the pilot and encourages him to go on the mission but this soon changes when he aborts the journey, discrediting any honour he had built for himself. In Bayonet Charge, the "king, honour, human dignity" that is applied by society is what wills the soldier on into battle. This contrasts with the idea of honour diminishing in Kamikaze. The soldier thinks of all the labels that will be put against his name as he runs through the battlefield. This newfound confidence is soon "dropped like luxuries" as he is wielded into a weapon by the nationalistic views of society. The oxymoron "patriotic tear" shows how soldiers are drawn in by the lies of propaganda and that society is the fuel for all these lies. The expectations of the nation and the labels that they give soldiers are what encourages them to go to war yet in the end it is all meaningless. The adverb "etcetera" shows the futility of war and how it is becoming irrelevant. It shows how society influences soldiers without experiencing the battle themselves: it shows that the labels aren't worth the loss and brutality that comes along with war. Another theme that is presented by Garland and Hughes is nature. In Kamikaze, nature is seen as powerful and influential as it is nature that prompts the memories of the pilot's family, causing him to abort his mission. The "dark shoals of fishes" represent the two sides to the pilot's life as he was saved against instant death yet he was pushed towards a life of misery and shame. The "dark" colour exhibits the sinister and lonely feelings he experiences when he returns home, whereas the "shoals" show the hero he would have been to society had he carried out his expedition. Nature also creates a tranquil and beautiful scene, which contrasts to the brutality of war. The "green-blue translucent sea" shows that the innocence and beauty of nature always wins against the horrors of war. On the contrary, in Bayonet Charge, nature is shown as vulnerable and damaged due to the violence of war. Nature is portrayed as decayed and diseased with the "yellow hare" which is "rolled like a flame". The "yellow" colour could also represent the cowardly behaviour of society hiding behind the lies of propaganda. The violent image that is created shows how nature is being harmed by war rather than being more powerful than it like in Kamikaze. The destruction of nature is conveyed by "bullets smacking the belly out of the air" which emphasises another side to the brutality of war. The juxtaposition between the harsh, man-made "bullets" and the soothing, natural "air" displays the thin line between life and death with the large amounts of bullets being fired at not only the soldiers but the surrounding environment too. This shows how humanity infiltrates the resources of nature and harms it with conflicts such as war. The violent verb "smacking" highlights the brutal effects of war on nature. It is reflecting that vulnerable things (such as nature) become dark and tainted with the barbarity of war. Garland and Hughes use structure in different ways to amplify the brutality of war. Kamikaze has a regular stanza length, which implies a story-telling atmosphere - this is also revealed by the fact that we never actually hear the pilot's thoughts and the cyclical narrative of the poem. The regularity in the stanza length contrasts with the lack of obedience the pilot has to cultural expectations. As the story is told through the daughter's perspective ("she thought"), it further emphasises the father's lack/loss of voice and status in society. This shows the brutal punishment of going against what is expected of kamikaze pilots. The first full stop in the poem comes at the end of the fifth stanza where the volta shows the abrupt change in decision; he intends to abort his mission. At this point, the control returns to his hands rather than those of societies and his superiors. The enjambment up to this point shows the lack of order in the pilot's life and although it is hidden behind the organised stanza length, the missing end stops show the mental debate about whether he should carry out the suicide mission or not. In Bayonet Charge, the action starts straight away, which illustrates the unpredictability and drama of war. This contrasts to the aftermath shown in Kamikaze. The erratic structure of the poem shows the confusion and franticness of the soldier as he runs through the battlefield. This conveys the intensity of war, which causes more tension to build in the pause between the action. The sense of stillness between the action when "in bewilderment he almost stopped" causes the drama to intensify once again as there is a build-up to a big decision. He has to decide whether to carry on fighting or stop which is similar to Kamikaze however he does not act on his guilt. This means that the poem carries on once again in the midst of the action. Both poems use metaphors to express the brutality of war with Kamikaze likening a pilot to "a tuna, the dark prince, muscular, dangerous". This metaphor shows the honour that he would have gained by continuing his mission while the oxymoron "the dark prince" shows that this glory would have been gained through dark, evil and ster means. The "tuna" represents the pilot's loneliness which his own decision to reject orders brings him. It could be argued that he felt loneliness before beginning his journey as society pressurized him into going but he only truly felt it when he was no longer bombarded with all the propaganda and support of his nation. The adjective "muscular" creates images of a stereotypical hero, which is how he would have been portrayed had he obeyed orders, and "dangerous" reflects the unpatriotic decision he made. The metaphor in Bayonet Charge - "in what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations..." - likens the soldier to a clock hinting that the time goes slowly due to the trauma he has endured. It shows that his suffering is constant and the brutal effect war has on soldiers' mental health. The use of "clockwork" implies that the soldier is just a cog in the machine of war and that another soldier who has also fallen for the lies of propaganda can easily replace him. It also suggests that there is no concept of time in war as everything ends up blurring into fighting over something with no meaning anymore. Kamikaze and Bayonet Charge both have powerful ending sentences to leave the reader wondering about what happened next. In Kamikaze, there is a final note of sadness as he questioned, "which had been the better way to die". The juxtaposition is scraping at a final piece of hope after the regret and loneliness the pilot experienced and it leaves the reader debating if there is a right way to die. At the time, in Japan they would have said he should have died carrying out his mission however reflecting back, it seems he would have been more stupid than heroic. It could also mean that the pilot did in fact die or maybe it was just a metaphorical death; the reader is allowed to decide. Similarly, Bayonet Charge ends on a cliffhanger with "his terror's touchy dynamite" suggesting that the soldier may be about to lose control. The alliteration of the 't' sound presents the idea of a ticking time bomb almost about to explode. This can also be suggested by the word "dynamite" showing he is about to shoot at anything and everything in his way. It also creates a hard and plosive sound, which gives a sense of abruptness. By ending with this sentence, it shows how the brutality of war has also turned him into a weapon and dehumanised the soldier. He has been brainwashed by propaganda and willed on by societies expectations only to turn into someone who is most likely too destructive to make it out of the war alive. To conclude, both Kamikaze and Bayonet Charge present the brutality of war, although they are both shown in different ways. Garland shows the power of nature and how it heavily influences the pilot's decision to go against orders whereas Hughes shows the vulnerability of nature and how it is destroyed by war/mankind. Both are effective at showing how the brutality of war does not only affect humans but the environment around it too. Both poems also present the theme of the expectations of society however in Kamikaze the pilot rebels against them whereas in Bayonet Charge they will the soldier on. Kamikaze has a regular structure with subtle hints at internal conflict through the use of enjambment. In contrast, Bayonet Charge has a frantic and irregular structure which makes it clear how mentally unstable the soldier is. Garland uses many metaphors to show the brutality of war, which is similar to the techniques used by Hughes. Overall, both poets show the brutality of war in opposite ways, however, both are effective at leaving an impact on the reader and showing the horrors that surround war.