3. Exposure - Wilfred Owen

Question 1

The first line personifies nature and its power, and describes it as though it’s going to kill them, and the sibilance sounds like the wind slicing them.

Answer 1

“Our brains ache, in the merciless iced East winds that knife us.”

Question 2

Violent natural imagery shows that war causes everything to become evil, even the air.

Answer 2

“bullets … less deathly than the air that shudders black”

Question 3

Shows that the soldiers are losing their faith in God and feel like the war will never end.

Answer 3

“For love of God seems dying”

Question 4

The refrain shows how boring and repetitive war can be and how they’re waiting, unsure of when or if something will happen. And the repetition of the phrase creates a cyclical structure, and implies their suffering is never-ending.

Answer 4

‘But nothing happens’

Question 5

What is the context of Exposure?

Answer 5

Wilfred Owen was a real Lieutenant in World War 1 - he wanted to show how war was depressing and dull, not heroic and patriotic.

Question 6

Shows the soldiers physical suffering and mental suffering caused by shellshock or PTSD.

Answer 6

“Our brains ache”

Question 7

The semantic field of the weather personifies weather and describes it to be the enemy.

Answer 7

“merciless iced east winds that knife us”
“mad gusts tugging on the wire”
“flights of bullets streak the silence/ Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow.”