Mametz Wood, by Owen Sheers Flashcards
(16 cards)
Who is the speaker in the poem?
speaker is not explicitly identified as a soldier or a specific person
written in the third-person perspective, which creates a distance from the events
What?
reflects on the enduring impact of the Battle of Mametz Wood during WW1
When? Where?
The Battle of Mametz wood in July 1916 in Northern France
Owen Sheers wrote the poem in 2005
Why?
focuses on the loss of Welsh Soldiers, inspired by a visit to the site and research into the battle’s history
he felt their bravery and sacrifice was never really acknowledged
Context
Mametz Wood was one of the bloodiest battles of WW1 - soldiers in the Welsh division were ordered to take Mametz Wood, the largest area of trees on the battlefield
38th Welsh Division lost 4000 men during the attack which lasted 5 days
The poet grew up in Wales
Structure
The poems structure is in regular 3 line stanzas
almost reflecting the linear pattern of a ploughed field
However, at times the length of the lines change, with longer lines breaking up the neat form.
This disrupted pattern could reflect the ‘chits of bone’ rising out of the ground and disrupting our attempts to forget the past.
The first part of the poem focuses on the land itself before the focus shifts to the bones and dead soldiers
in the final stanzas. The concluding stanza brings all the elements together
Analysis on the opening line
‘For years afterwards the farmers found them’
The opening lines emphasise how deadly the battle was as they found the remains for “years afterwards
What does the adjective ‘wasted’ suggest in the second line?
The adjective “wasted” suggests the young soldiers lost their lives before they had really started living
Analysis on ‘as they tended the land back into itself’
The verb “tended” personifies the land, suggesting that the farmers tried to care for the wounded surface that was so badly damaged by the war
What does ‘A chit of bone’ indicate?
‘A chit’ is a short note and indicates that these pieces of bone contain a message for us about the brutality of war
What do the metaphors in the second stanza emphasize?
The metaphors of a “china plate” and “broken bird’s egg” emphasise how fragile and precious the human body is.
Analysis on the fourth stanza
In stanza four Sheers again personifies the land. The noun “sentinel” links back to soldiers standing watch all night and suggests the land cannot rest because of the horrors it has seen in war.
The simile “like a wound working a foreign body” suggests the land is
trying to cleanse itself of the damage that has been done.
‘This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave’ analysis
switch to present tense which makes the tragedy seem more immediate and real for the reader
the horrors of war are still being felt today and remind us of the fatal consequences of conflict
analysis on ‘a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm’
The noun “mosaic” suggests the intricate and beautiful nature of the human body
suggests the soldiers were close as a division and stayed together as a team, even in death.
What is meant by ‘they had sung’?
soldiers often sang to keep their spirits up in the darker moments of war
welsh divisions were particularly well-known for their songs
Final line analysis
‘slipped from their absent tongues’
The final stanza creates a haunting tone. The adjective “absent” suggests the men’s voices were lost in battle –they were silenced by their generals and then the machine guns. Only now, “with this unearthing”, is the truth
emerging.
