Understanding the poem 'Bayonet Charge'
I can explain how Hughes presents the enduring impact of war.
Understanding the poem 'Bayonet Charge'
I can explain how Hughes presents the enduring impact of war.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘Bayonet Charge’ depicts a soldier in the midst of a harrowing battle.
- ‘Bayonet Charge’ exposes how war damages people, innocence and the natural world.
- Hughes’ intention may be to criticise the patriotic ideals surrounding war and expose the true horrors of war.
- Hughes may have based his poem on his father’s stories of WW1 .
- Hughes' fathers stories were so vivid that Hughes felt he himself had witnessed the apocalyptic carnage.
Keywords
Patriotic - having devotion or love for one’s country
Dehumanise - deprive someone of the qualities that make them human
Harrowing - highly distressing
Common misconception
Poetry about war is always based on first-hand experience.
Many poems about war are from the perspective of family members who are also impacted by their loved ones going to war.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the AQA Power and Conflict Anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
having devotion or love for one’s country
deprive someone of the qualities that make them human
highly distressing