exposure

Question 1

summary?

Answer 1

brutal experiences in the trenches during ww2. it shows the readers the burden placed on soldiers not only by the opposing army, but the weather. it subverts the idea of glorifying war by showing the horrifying reality soldiers face

Question 2

what can be said about
‘our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us.. wearied we keep awake because the night is silent’

Answer 2

• plural ‘brains’
• noun ‘ache’
• ‘knive’
• alliteration of ‘w’
• ‘silent’
• ‘wearied… silent’

Question 3

‘our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us.. wearied we keep awake because the night is silent’

Answer 3

• plural ‘brains’ - collective camaraderie and how they all suffered together
• ‘ache’- ongoing slow pain- war isn’t always fast pace, the weather bites away at them. the fact that their ‘brains’ ache show the psychological impacts of war
• ‘knive’- nature is the real enemy. its attacking the men- punishing the nature of man
• alliteration of ‘w’ slows out the rhythm showing that the soldiers have been exposed for ages.
• ‘silent’ contrasts the common view of war- soldiers are awake due to a silent night. in war everything is turned upside down
• ‘wearied..night is silent’- fear of people highlights how the soldiers have become subject to such barbarity and belligerence they don’t even seek comfort in the silence and peace as this is just the lead up to more barbarity

Question 4

what can be said about
‘dawn massing in the east her melancholy army attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey’

Answer 4

• ‘dawn’ and irony
• personification
• ‘melancholy army’ 2 interpretation
• repetition of ‘ranks’

Question 5

‘dawn massing in the east her melancholy army attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey’

Answer 5

• ‘dawn’- usually associated with hope but here, its another day of war makes it ironic as there’s no new beginning or hope in sight for the soldiers as the future looks bleak
• ‘ her’ personifies the weather making it more powerful than the men and they are inferior
• ‘melancholy army’- the weather has a ‘massing melancholy army’ showing that the weather is a bigger threat to the soldiers
• also juxtaposes the traditional views of mother nature as nurturing with the brutality and systematic violence of an enemy
• ‘ranks’ - repetition and assonance- the attack from nature goes on and on

Question 6

what can be said about
‘so we drowse sun-dozed, littered with blossoms trickling where the blackbird fusses- is it that we are dying?’

Answer 6

• ‘drowse’
• ‘sun-dozed’
• 2 interpretations of snow dazed to sun dazed
• the hyphen

Question 7

‘so we drowse sun-dozed, littered with blossoms trickling where the blackbird fusses- is it that we are dying?’

Answer 7

• ‘drowse’- shows their exhaustion
• ‘sun-dozed’- in previous lines they were ‘snow-dazed’ creating a contrast/shift. reference to hallucinatory state of hypothermia where they think they’re watching warmer and happier memories

snow dazed to sun dazed
- this passage of time and changing of the seasons is contrasted with the stagnation of the soldiers positions, with nothing changing even as time goes on
-the bliss and weather normally associated with spring is also subverted here, no new beginning or respite for the soldiers. owen shows their suffering transcends the seasons

• ‘-‘ caesura snaps them back into reality

Question 8

what can be said about
‘therefore, not loath, we lie out here; therefore were born, for love of God seems dying’

Answer 8

• expectation meant to be happy to sacrifice for their country (toxic patriotism)- its meant to be why they’re born
• ‘lie’ may suggest that we are lying if we say there is a good reason for war
• ‘God’- turning away from christianity- lose hope in God because they’re just out there dying- owen was going to train as a vicar

Question 9

‘pause over half known faces. all their eyes are ice, but nothing happens’

Answer 9

• ‘pause’ war burial party is almost emotionless
• ‘half’ they’ve lost their identity because of war
• ‘their’ contrasts ‘we’- their unity is lost
• ‘ice’ war takes away any capacity of feeling
• owen may want a political change
• ‘nothing happens’ - shows the futility of war. anaphora shows that the soldiers fears are ongoing but never come to fall fruition. it’s repetition emulates the soldier’s endless fear and suffering

Question 10

form

Answer 10

-rhyme: Consistency of rhyme scheme means that the fifth line always stands out. This means that the message in this line is emphasised and is more striking to the reader. This is significant as it serves to communicate Owens’s emotions in the given stanza, often providing poignant insights into his inner thoughts on how his life has been reduced to nothing. The consistency of the rhyme scheme also communicates the monotony of the war, with minimal changes or variations. The four lines preceding the final line are always poetic and rich, meaning that the fifth line always functions as an anti-climax with the eventual realisation that nothing is happening.
- Atmosphere of discomfort with half-rhymes that lead to the poem feeling slightly uneasy.
“Knife us” “nervous”

Handyur ever thing ter naps and on i in othere ox ring conleite
nervy anticipation that is playing on their minds.
• This sense of unease throughout the poem is what Owens intends to try and communicate an emotion of war to the reader.

Question 11

structure

Answer 11

cyclical structure: “But nothing happens” used to frame the poem as well as being interspersed throughout. Shows the continuous vicious cycle of war and suttering as well as highlighting that there is no true end to the soldier’s plight. Also emphasises the relentless cycle of waiting for ones death.
- caesura: Owens employs punctuation to try and separate home and freedom from the trenches.
“Slowly our ghosts drag home: glimpsing the sunk fires” This serves as a barrier, showing how the soldiers are dreaming of a release that is not guaranteed and that they are separated from.
The caesura is also used to place emphasis on the relentlessness of their suffering: “Northward, incessantly,”. The comma after incessantly creates a moment for the reader to pause and absorb how their suffering and pain was incessant.