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5
0
S
Simran Singh
07/12/2025
English Literature
Power and conflict: bayonet charge
85
•
7 Dec 2025
•
Bayonet Charge: Power and Conflict AQA Analysis
S
Simran Singh
@simransin_2f93r
1 / 5
A Violent Awakening
The poem begins dramatically "in media res" (in the middle of action), immediately plunging us into the soldier's terrifying experience. We're told "suddenly he awoke and was running- raw / In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy" – suggesting war is like an unnatural awakening from the dream of normal life.
The repetition of "raw" works on multiple levels. It creates a sensory experience of painful, exposed skin but also cleverly forms "war" when read backwards. Even the soldier's uniform betrays him – the khaki that should protect him becomes another source of discomfort, with hot seams burning against his skin.
The poet creates a powerful contrast between the urgent action ("running") and the poem's breathless pace. Though the soldier moves quickly, the sentence drags on without a full stop, mimicking the soldier's desperate gasping as he flees either towards or away from death.
Did you notice? The word "raw" is a homophone for the sound "roar," subtly suggesting the deafening noise of battle that has jolted the soldier from his normal existence into this terrifying new reality.
Physical and Psychological Numbness
The poem continues with an almost comical image: "bullets smacking the belly out of the air." This personification creates a bizarre moment of relief – the bullets are hitting the air, not him... yet. This brief flash of dark comedy might reflect the soldier's attempt to suppress his terror.
The soldier "lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm" – a powerful simile that transforms his weapon into a damaged extension of himself. The numbness represents both physical exhaustion and emotional shutdown. In combat, feeling nothing becomes a survival mechanism.
The poet cleverly manipulates rhythm to disorient us. He shifts between iambic rhythm and trochaic rhythm , creating an unnatural cadence that mirrors the soldier's desperate, awkward running. You can feel the soldier's struggle in the very flow of the lines.
Think about this: The bizarre imagery and shifting rhythms aren't just stylistic choices – they're deliberately mirroring the soldier's fractured mental state during combat. The poem wants you to feel as disoriented as he does.
Questioning Fate and Purpose
As we move to the second stanza, the soldier's thoughts interrupt his physical movement. In the middle of his desperate run, he pauses mentally to ask: "in what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations / Was he the hand pointing that second?"
This powerful moment reveals the soldier questioning the larger forces controlling his fate. The "cold clockwork" suggests an unfeeling, mechanical universe where his death is just another tick of the cosmic clock. But he quickly shifts blame from fate to "the nations" – recognizing how politicians and patriotic propaganda led him to this moment.
The clock metaphor works brilliantly here. As the "hand pointing that second," the soldier sees himself as just another casualty in war's relentless machinery. Each second, another life extinguished. The image of a pointing hand also evokes famous recruitment posters that lured young men to war with appeals to duty.
Make connections: The poem's irregular stanza structure (8 lines, 7 lines, 8 lines) reflects the chaotic nature of war itself – there is no pattern, no reliable structure to cling to when everything falls apart.
Nature Distorted by War
In a striking image, the soldier notices how war has corrupted even the natural world: "threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame / And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide." The hare becomes a powerful symbol for the soldier himself.
The double meaning of "threw up" suggests both sudden appearance and sickness, reflecting the soldier's nausea at his situation. The unnatural yellow color of the hare represents both cowardice and the corruption of nature's normal order – even animals behave strangely in war's presence.
The "threshing circle" creates a biblical image of harvest and death. Just as wheat is cut down, so too are soldiers in war. The hare frantically moves but gets nowhere, mirroring the soldier's own desperate but potentially futile escape attempt. The circular motion suggests that war itself is an endless cycle humanity cannot escape.
Dig deeper: Ted Hughes wrote this poem in the 1950s, after the Second World War. The circular imagery might reflect his belief that humans are trapped in cycles of violence that continue generation after generation.
Stripped to Basic Survival
In the final powerful moment, the poem reveals how war strips away all social constructs: "king, honour, human dignity, etcetera / Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm." When faced with imminent death, the grand ideals that supposedly justify war become meaningless.
The casual "etcetera" is brilliantly dismissive, suggesting these concepts are actually ridiculous when bullets are flying. The soldier experiences a moment of clarity – in the face of death, patriotism and honor mean nothing. Survival is all that matters.
The poem ends with these ideals being "dropped like luxuries" – things you discard when true danger arrives. War reveals them as mere indulgences we can't afford when fighting for our lives. What once seemed worth dying for now seems absurd compared to the precious value of simply staying alive.
Think critically: The poem challenges us to question what we're taught about patriotism and heroic sacrifice. Is dying for abstract concepts like "king" and "honor" really noble, or are these ideas created to convince ordinary people to risk their lives for others' benefit?
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Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
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The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
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Rohan U
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I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
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THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
Thomas R
iOS user
Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
Android user
This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
Android user
I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user
Bayonet Charge: Power and Conflict AQA Analysis
S
Simran Singh
@simransin_2f93r
"Bayonet Charge" explores the brutal reality of war through a soldier's frantic dash across a battlefield. The poem thrusts us directly into the chaotic, terrifying experience of combat, revealing how war strips away social constructs and forces confrontation with raw... Show more
A Violent Awakening
The poem begins dramatically "in media res" (in the middle of action), immediately plunging us into the soldier's terrifying experience. We're told "suddenly he awoke and was running- raw / In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy" – suggesting war is like an unnatural awakening from the dream of normal life.
The repetition of "raw" works on multiple levels. It creates a sensory experience of painful, exposed skin but also cleverly forms "war" when read backwards. Even the soldier's uniform betrays him – the khaki that should protect him becomes another source of discomfort, with hot seams burning against his skin.
The poet creates a powerful contrast between the urgent action ("running") and the poem's breathless pace. Though the soldier moves quickly, the sentence drags on without a full stop, mimicking the soldier's desperate gasping as he flees either towards or away from death.
Did you notice? The word "raw" is a homophone for the sound "roar," subtly suggesting the deafening noise of battle that has jolted the soldier from his normal existence into this terrifying new reality.
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Physical and Psychological Numbness
The poem continues with an almost comical image: "bullets smacking the belly out of the air." This personification creates a bizarre moment of relief – the bullets are hitting the air, not him... yet. This brief flash of dark comedy might reflect the soldier's attempt to suppress his terror.
The soldier "lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm" – a powerful simile that transforms his weapon into a damaged extension of himself. The numbness represents both physical exhaustion and emotional shutdown. In combat, feeling nothing becomes a survival mechanism.
The poet cleverly manipulates rhythm to disorient us. He shifts between iambic rhythm and trochaic rhythm , creating an unnatural cadence that mirrors the soldier's desperate, awkward running. You can feel the soldier's struggle in the very flow of the lines.
Think about this: The bizarre imagery and shifting rhythms aren't just stylistic choices – they're deliberately mirroring the soldier's fractured mental state during combat. The poem wants you to feel as disoriented as he does.
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Questioning Fate and Purpose
As we move to the second stanza, the soldier's thoughts interrupt his physical movement. In the middle of his desperate run, he pauses mentally to ask: "in what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations / Was he the hand pointing that second?"
This powerful moment reveals the soldier questioning the larger forces controlling his fate. The "cold clockwork" suggests an unfeeling, mechanical universe where his death is just another tick of the cosmic clock. But he quickly shifts blame from fate to "the nations" – recognizing how politicians and patriotic propaganda led him to this moment.
The clock metaphor works brilliantly here. As the "hand pointing that second," the soldier sees himself as just another casualty in war's relentless machinery. Each second, another life extinguished. The image of a pointing hand also evokes famous recruitment posters that lured young men to war with appeals to duty.
Make connections: The poem's irregular stanza structure (8 lines, 7 lines, 8 lines) reflects the chaotic nature of war itself – there is no pattern, no reliable structure to cling to when everything falls apart.
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Nature Distorted by War
In a striking image, the soldier notices how war has corrupted even the natural world: "threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame / And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide." The hare becomes a powerful symbol for the soldier himself.
The double meaning of "threw up" suggests both sudden appearance and sickness, reflecting the soldier's nausea at his situation. The unnatural yellow color of the hare represents both cowardice and the corruption of nature's normal order – even animals behave strangely in war's presence.
The "threshing circle" creates a biblical image of harvest and death. Just as wheat is cut down, so too are soldiers in war. The hare frantically moves but gets nowhere, mirroring the soldier's own desperate but potentially futile escape attempt. The circular motion suggests that war itself is an endless cycle humanity cannot escape.
Dig deeper: Ted Hughes wrote this poem in the 1950s, after the Second World War. The circular imagery might reflect his belief that humans are trapped in cycles of violence that continue generation after generation.
Sign up to see the contentIt's free!
Access to all documents
Improve your grades
Join milions of students
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Stripped to Basic Survival
In the final powerful moment, the poem reveals how war strips away all social constructs: "king, honour, human dignity, etcetera / Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm." When faced with imminent death, the grand ideals that supposedly justify war become meaningless.
The casual "etcetera" is brilliantly dismissive, suggesting these concepts are actually ridiculous when bullets are flying. The soldier experiences a moment of clarity – in the face of death, patriotism and honor mean nothing. Survival is all that matters.
The poem ends with these ideals being "dropped like luxuries" – things you discard when true danger arrives. War reveals them as mere indulgences we can't afford when fighting for our lives. What once seemed worth dying for now seems absurd compared to the precious value of simply staying alive.
Think critically: The poem challenges us to question what we're taught about patriotism and heroic sacrifice. Is dying for abstract concepts like "king" and "honor" really noble, or are these ideas created to convince ordinary people to risk their lives for others' benefit?
We thought you’d never ask...
What is the Knowunity AI companion?
Our AI Companion is a student-focused AI tool that offers more than just answers. Built on millions of Knowunity resources, it provides relevant information, personalised study plans, quizzes, and content directly in the chat, adapting to your individual learning journey.
Where can I download the Knowunity app?
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Most popular content: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Most popular content in English Literature
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Can't find what you're looking for? Explore other subjects.
Students love us — and so will you.
4.9/5
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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
Thomas R
iOS user
Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
Android user
This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
Android user
I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
Best app on earth! no words because it’s too good
Thomas R
iOS user
Just amazing. Let's me revise 10x better, this app is a quick 10/10. I highly recommend it to anyone. I can watch and search for notes. I can save them in the subject folder. I can revise it any time when I come back. If you haven't tried this app, you're really missing out.
Basil
Android user
This app has made me feel so much more confident in my exam prep, not only through boosting my own self confidence through the features that allow you to connect with others and feel less alone, but also through the way the app itself is centred around making you feel better. It is easy to navigate, fun to use, and helpful to anyone struggling in absolutely any way.
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
very reliable app to help and grow your ideas of Maths, English and other related topics in your works. please use this app if your struggling in areas, this app is key for that. wish I'd of done a review before. and it's also free so don't worry about that.
Rohan U
Android user
I know a lot of apps use fake accounts to boost their reviews but this app deserves it all. Originally I was getting 4 in my English exams and this time I got a grade 7. I didn’t even know about this app three days until the exam and it has helped A LOT. Please actually trust me and use it as I’m sure you too will see developments.
Xander S
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE THE SCHOOLGPT. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This apps acc the goat. I find revision so boring but this app makes it so easy to organize it all and then you can ask the freeeee ai to test yourself so good and you can easily upload your own stuff. highly recommend as someone taking mocks now
Paul T
iOS user