Both poems show the soldiers attitude towards war - in COTLB the soldiers are patriotic and do not question whether they will die or not whereas in Bayonet
Charge, the soldier start to loose his patriotism and begins to fear for his life.
‘theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do ‘The patriotic tear that brimmed from his eye, sweating like molten
and die’ iron’
-repetition of the words ‘theirs not to’ (anaphora) emphasises the fact that -metaphor suggests that his patriotism that he once had is now turning
the soldiers feel obliged to follow orders and not contradict their of cers. into fear for his life
-they know that they must do their duty and patriotically ght for their -this is the stark reality of war that he was not told about and realises that
country he is sacri cing himself.
-use of alliteration in the words ‘do and die’ indicate that the soldiers know -‘molten’ suggests a burning heat or desire to run for his life.
that they are risking their lives, which demonstrates the strong sense of
duty they feel to their queen and their country.
‘‘king, honour, human dignity..dropped like luxuries’
‘Was there a man dismay’d?’ -list indicates the many things soldiers thought they would be ghting for
when they were encouraged to sign up, and when they rst boldly left to
-Rhetorical question presents extreme courage of the soldiers - not one join the war e ort.
didn’t follow order, when most of them probably knew they wouldn’t make it
but they are doing it for their country. -‘honour’ implies that soldiers thought they’d spend much of their time
being celebrated for their bravery - compared to ‘luxuries’, which implies
that soldiers are unable to consider these noble ambitions while they are
Structure ghting at war. It is simply a ght for survival.
-Tight rhyme and repetition re ect the tight control of cers maintain over -The soldier in this poem must drop his previous ideas about king and
the soldiers as they are commanded to charge, unquestioningly, to their honour as he runs out of no man’s land, desperately trying to save himself.
deaths.
-use of regularity of stanza shape re ects shape of soldiers and their Context
obedient nature Having learned from his father about what war was like, Hughes aims to
expose the brutal reality of warfare to his readers, in contrast to the
celebratory feel created in the nal stanza of The Charge of the Light
Brigade.
Structure
-combination of enjambment and dashes throughout the poem, which
create stop-start motion, mirroring the terror and confusion the soldier feels
as he charges.
-starts in medias res - creates a sense of frantic pace and termed thoughts
fi
fi ff fiflfi fl fi fi fi fi
Charge, the soldier start to loose his patriotism and begins to fear for his life.
‘theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do ‘The patriotic tear that brimmed from his eye, sweating like molten
and die’ iron’
-repetition of the words ‘theirs not to’ (anaphora) emphasises the fact that -metaphor suggests that his patriotism that he once had is now turning
the soldiers feel obliged to follow orders and not contradict their of cers. into fear for his life
-they know that they must do their duty and patriotically ght for their -this is the stark reality of war that he was not told about and realises that
country he is sacri cing himself.
-use of alliteration in the words ‘do and die’ indicate that the soldiers know -‘molten’ suggests a burning heat or desire to run for his life.
that they are risking their lives, which demonstrates the strong sense of
duty they feel to their queen and their country.
‘‘king, honour, human dignity..dropped like luxuries’
‘Was there a man dismay’d?’ -list indicates the many things soldiers thought they would be ghting for
when they were encouraged to sign up, and when they rst boldly left to
-Rhetorical question presents extreme courage of the soldiers - not one join the war e ort.
didn’t follow order, when most of them probably knew they wouldn’t make it
but they are doing it for their country. -‘honour’ implies that soldiers thought they’d spend much of their time
being celebrated for their bravery - compared to ‘luxuries’, which implies
that soldiers are unable to consider these noble ambitions while they are
Structure ghting at war. It is simply a ght for survival.
-Tight rhyme and repetition re ect the tight control of cers maintain over -The soldier in this poem must drop his previous ideas about king and
the soldiers as they are commanded to charge, unquestioningly, to their honour as he runs out of no man’s land, desperately trying to save himself.
deaths.
-use of regularity of stanza shape re ects shape of soldiers and their Context
obedient nature Having learned from his father about what war was like, Hughes aims to
expose the brutal reality of warfare to his readers, in contrast to the
celebratory feel created in the nal stanza of The Charge of the Light
Brigade.
Structure
-combination of enjambment and dashes throughout the poem, which
create stop-start motion, mirroring the terror and confusion the soldier feels
as he charges.
-starts in medias res - creates a sense of frantic pace and termed thoughts
fi
fi ff fiflfi fl fi fi fi fi
