Moving On - 'Bayonet Charge' - Ted Hughes

Bayonet Charge

Suddenly he awoke and was running - raw
In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy,
Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge
That dazzled with rifle fire, hearing
Bullets smacking the belly out of the air -
He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm;
The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye
Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest, -

In bewilderment then he almost stopped -
In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations
Was he the hand pointing that second? 



Linking these poems together will be of vital importance to us in the long run.

Here is about half of 'Bayonet Charge'.

Try this:

How does the first about half of 'Bayonet Charge' by Ted Hughes give the impression that the soldier in the poem is unsure about his actions?

What sort of state of mind is the soldier in?

How does this opening suggest the futility of war?

Futility

Move him into the sun—
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields half-sown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.

Think how it wakes the seeds,—`Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,
Full-nerved—still warm—too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
—O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth’s sleep at all?


Given that the word futility means pointlessness explain the relevance of the title to the poem.

What do you think is the most significant phrase in the poem?
If you had to choose a maximum of three words to represent the meaning / feeling of the poem what would they be?  Try to briefly explain your choice.