Belfast Confetti by Ciaran Carson and Bayonet Charge by Ted Hughes both present ideas about the confusion and terror experienced by individuals in the middle of violence.

by ewilson922btinternetcom (student)

Conflict Poetry Practice Question

Compare how poets present the effects of conflict in ‘Belfast Confetti’ and one other poem.

‘Belfast Confetti’ by Ciaran Carson and ‘Bayonet Charge’ by Ted Hughes both present ideas about the confusion and terror experienced by individuals in the middle of violence. Belfast Confetti is set in Northern Ireland during a period known as ‘The Troubles’ and follows the experiences of a civilian caught amongst the chaos. In comparison, Bayonet Charge is set in the First World War as a soldier races towards battle.

Both poems begin in the middle of the action. The first line of Bayonet Charge is “Suddenly he awoke and was running”. This gives the poem a sense of immediacy as the character is already in full motion charging to battle. However, he is said to have only just woken making it seem as if he is in a vulnerable confused state. It also proves that the situation is real, and not a nightmare as the soldier may believe. Similarly, Belfast Confetti opens with “Suddenly as the riot squad moved in”. Like with Bayonet Charge, it puts the reader straight into the action. It catches you out, causing confusion and making you want to read more. These emotions are felt by you as a reader as well as the character in the poem, and is effective because it gives you an idea of the chaos at the centre of the conflict.

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In Belfast Confetti, Carson uses strong imagery and metaphors based on punctuation: “side streets blocked with stops and colons”. This gives the idea that the character is both physically blocked, but also trapped psychologically. Punctuation is usually used to break up the text, but in this case he is being harassed by the language surrounding him as people shout to be heard, and his head cannot make sense of it all. It suggests that there is no escape from conflict. Using punctuation as an image also suggests that the violence has come about because of a failure to communicate, making it seem pointless. Hughes presents ideas like these in Bayonet Charge, but instead using a rhetorical question: “In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations was he the second hand pointing that second?”. The soldier is a representation of how innocent people get caught up in violence; by comparing it to a ‘cold clockwork of stars and nations’, the soldier is made to seem insignificant. He questions why he is even present in the battle, showing how like in Belfast Confetti there is a psychological effect on the character as well as the physical firing of guns around him.

Belfast Confetti shows that conflict changes everything that is familiar: “I know this labyrinth so well”. This metaphor shows how despite the character being somewhere he has lived all his life, it has become completely unrecognisable due to the war. He feels trapped and lost in a place that he shouldn’t be, showing how conflict can have devastating effects, in this case completely changing the face of Northern Ireland for those who believed they knew it so well. By calling it a ‘labyrinth’ it relates to mythology, suggesting that the character believes that the country he knew and loved has gone and will also become a myth. The soldier in Bayonet Charge also questions his country: “King, honour, human dignity, etcetera dropped like luxuries”. Facing war first hand has made the character question his loyalty and patriotism for his country. It is so chaotic that the reasons he went to war are forgotten, shown by the word ‘etcetera’ as he talks about these things as if they no longer matter. He’s been reduced to a basic level, attacking out of desperation and not moral principle. Terror has become the emotion driving him forward rather than a more noble motive.

Overall, I believe these poems are trying to show how the effects of war reach everyone, causing confusion and terror especially for those witnessing it first hand. As well as this, both poems show how there are many questions about why conflict even occurs, but that it is likely to be something to continue forever.