Hawk Roosting. The Thought Fox. He was running. Then the shot-slashed furrows. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play. Sign Up.
Already have an account? He wishes to escape the nightmare. This poem is straight forward in terms of overall meaning. However, readers who wish to delve more into the subject can easily do so. There are many subtleties of this writing which make it one of the best war poems in recent history. 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? He was running Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs Listening between his footfalls for the reason Of his still running, and his foot hung like Statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed furrows. Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide Open silent, its eyes standing out.
This war poem is one of my favorites. At first glance it seems like an easy read—we can take it for what it says. But once we dig a little deeper, it is all too human. The First World War—really any war—is a nightmare.
As for the 'yellow hare', two points. Hares do have a considerable amount of yellow colouring and can often show this colour strongly. In addition, I think the hare's fear and panic, counterpoints that of the soldier, who also appears to be running blindly in several places. Yes, and why two poems by Hughes in the Conflict cluster instead of at least two by Owen?
And the absolutely dire Flag by Agard. Why, when we have such a choice of excellent war poets? Well, because the quality of the poems is not the main reason for selection, I fear. I tutor pupils who have English as a second language. It is a huge effort for them to understand poetry, and it seems especially cruel to be forcing them to expend so much effort on the second rate.
And then there is the crazy idea that writing can be divided into "persuasive, argumentative, descriptive" etc etc categories. These poor children form the view that writers I was a journalist for 30 years sit down and think: "I am writing a leader for The Times, have I included a rhetorical question, some statistics and a full range of punctuation?
Yes, of course there are far better ways to present poetry and encourage engagement with literature and writing, but to suggest that your pupils should actively forget everything they have learned and that it will be of no use to them in their lives seems highly irresponsible and serves only to teach them that they are wasting their time and that there is no point.
Apply understanding of the poem with questions that target each of the AOs. Or for a quick revision tool have a look at our the Bayonet Charge Revision Sheet. Identify key quotations across the Power and Conflict cluster with this matching card activity pack. A bargain and a time-saver all in one! If you want to see what we offer first, sign up for a free Twinkl account here and take a look around at our free resources.
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