Mametz Wood Flashcards
(20 cards)
Context behind mametz wood
The poem first appeared in skirrid Hill in 2005
it explores divisions and boundaries and ruptured physical terrain but also explores the ruptured terrain of the emotions and psychological states of the living and the dead
Through linguistic divides and broken communication
Key theme of the poem
Horror and wastefulness of war
Why did sheers write the poem
Sheers was inspired to write the poem after visiting the site and seeing the long grave just recently announced with 20 soldiers linked the grave wasn’t had no headstone and was done very hasty and it drifts to wonder about the wastefulness of war and how not everyone who fought in it was truly honoured
Who wrote the poem
Owen sheers
Context behind the soldiers and mametz wood itself
Mametz word was the site of the first battle of some where the 20 Welsh soldiers were unearthed
they were mowed down by machine gun fire and were hastily buried
more than 400 died during this
For years afterwards, the farmers found them
The adverbial phrase of ‘for years afterwards’ creates the idea that the Earth appears to be giving up the bodies as a constant reminder
The use of the personal pronoun ‘them’ before the noun phrase ‘wasted young’ places emphasis and highlights the sense of utility that sheers feels
The wasted young, turning up under their plough blades
The plosive of consonants helps evoke not only a sense of violence but also an idea of release, as the bodies themselves are unearthed almost creating the image that they are escaping
As they tended the land back into itself
The phrase ‘tended the land back into itself’ creates a sense of care as they try restore the land to what it originally was before it was a place of bloodshed
I chit of bone, the China plate of a shoulder blade
The word chit emphasises how the men have been reduced to mere fragments and highlights the smallness of their bones.
The harsh alliteration of the ‘c’ sound may suggest that pretty hardness or maybe even the distant sound of machine gunfire.
The consonance of the ‘l’ sounds give the poem a sense of musicality and cohesion amplifying the meaning of camaraderie and teamwork giving an idea of mock peacefulness or happiness
The relic of a finger the blown
The word relics could refer to the part of a deceased holy persons body which are kept as remnants
the image of the blown and broken convey fragility being destroyed by violence
the plosive alliteration and assonance emphasises the sense of brutality
And broken birds egg of a skull
Again, we see a plosive consonants that make the poem sound much harder
The enjambment from line 5 until line 6 shows how the amount of destruction is unable to fit within the confines of the poem itself, as the poem is not enough to describe the suffering that the soldiers went through
All mimics now in Flint, breaking blue and white
the plosive of alliteration of ‘breaking blue’ enhances the imagery in which the men’s skeletons almost explode to the surface, at last liberated
Roll across the field, where they were told to walk not run
The past and present mingle in the line, representing how the officers planning was un orderly and acts as a way for sheers to criticise the squandering of the soldiers lives. It is a representation of the technique of how the form reflects the content of the poem.
There is also a sense of frustration to the reader as to how they were such an easy target to German artillery and why they were told to walk and not run
There is also irony, as children are frequently told to walk and not run to keep them safe, and Sheers uses this remind the reader of how young the men who fought in the war actually were
Towards the wood and it’s nesting machine guns
Nesting could refer to the act that bird Street before they breed which is hinting at a new life. German artillery breeds death over a life which juxtaposes the positive natural vocabulary with the negative technical vocabulary
creates a menacing and horrifying feeling as it links back to the last line of the previous stanza
And even now the Earth stands sentinel
The personification of the Earth standing Sentinel highlights held earth was standing like a guard to try a shield the soldiers from the horrors that happened above them, to try to let them rest in at least a little peace
Reaching back into it itself for reminders of what happened
Suggest that rather than a passive receptacle for the men’s remains which are brought to the surface mainly by the action of those plough blades, it is an active force intentionally pushing them up to remind mankind of the horrors of war, and to make us repent and feel guilt for the suffering that was caused by only humanities greed
Like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin
The simile of working a foreign body to the surface of the skin for the emphasises to personification as it portrays us as having been wounded or hot as the men’s remains are almost alien to it and the natural response for the Earth is trying to push them out.
This is further emphasised by the sibilance of surface and skin which almost sound like whispering or hissing which could be done in times of pain or stress.
This morning 20 men buried in one long grave
The adverbial of phrase of ‘this morning’ represents how the horrors of war are still here, they’re not something that can simply be erased or forgotten about
furthermore, the specific and vivid imagery of the horrific reality of war and death highlights how they had to be buried quickly with no ceremony much juxtaposing the propaganda and the ideas of war when they first fought
