Conflict: Set 2

Question 1

If given ‘Exposure’ to which poem would you compare it?

Answer 1

• ‘Storm On The Island’
• power of nature
• conflict of nature Vs man
• power of humans (or lack thereof)

Question 2

Explain why ‘Storm On The Island’ starts in iambic pentameter then changes on line 9?

Answer 2

• ‘Storm On The Island’
• starts in iambic pentameter
• on line 9, when “fear” is first mentioned, the syllables per line go to 11, to show the doubt and anxiety of the islanders
• the poem returns to the form iambic pentameter on line 18 when the sense of community is reintroduced “we”

Question 3

Who wrote ‘Exposure’?

Answer 3

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
WW1 soldier - 2nd lieutenant officer
Experienced PTSD

Question 4

“When it blows full/ Blast: you know what I mean”

• which poem is this from?
• explore the use of “when” and “Blast”

Answer 4

“When”- conjunction, shows the inevitability of the storm
“Blast”-plosive, connote violence. Emphasises the sound, starts on a new line so gives the idea that the storm is unpredictable

Question 5

“Merciless iced east winds that knive us…”

Explore this quotation from ‘Exposure’

Answer 5

• “merciless” connotes cruelness or pitiless, implying nature is powerful because it dominates everyone no matter their class, beliefs etc , nature is omnipotent no matter who it’s opponent is
• “East” could be referencing Germany
• “Us” collective pronouns showing comradeship
• “Knive” personify the cold with war imagery, as if nature is more dangerous than war itself. Shows hostility of nature as if the attack is systematically and purposely planned by nature , connotes viciousness
• “…” ellipsis to show that war never ends

Question 6

“This ______ earth has never ________ us”

What language device is used in this quotation?

Answer 6

“This wizened earth has never troubled us”

-the earth is personified

Question 7

Who wrote ‘Storm On The Island’?

Answer 7

Seamus Heaney
(1939-2013)
-English poet

Question 8

In ‘Storm On The Island’ why is enjambment used, and why is there no rhyme scheme ?

Answer 8

• no rhyme scheme; implies nature is unpredictable and surprising
• enjambment; casual tone, as if they are used to the storms

Question 9

Explain the use of war imagery in ‘Storm On The Island’ (contextually)
Use an example

Answer 9

-conflict in Northern Island during the war (IRA)
Wind is described with war imagery to show that we will always be at war, whether it’s with humans or nature (Seamus Heaney was born in 1939, when the war had just ended)
-“strafes invisibly” “space is a salvo” “bombarded”