Exposure Flashcards
Exposure : Title meaning
The title has a double meaning. Not only exposure to the elements, but exposing the truth of war
Exposure : Structure of stanzas
Three parts. Blunt powerful first sentence (“our brains ache” - pronoun “our” demonstrating sense of togetherness, lots of descriptive sentences, and then an anti-climax. Brings us into the soldiers view
Exposure : Rhyme scheme
pararhyme : Half rhymes to show unease ( meaning different vowel sounds, same consonants)
Exposure : ‘For love of God seems dying’
Many meanings. For love of god – seems dying. To earn the love of god they should die to help home. The literal, God’s love dying.
Exposure : ‘Since we believe not otherwise kind fires can burn’
Their suffering is not in vain. They must do this to let people to live happily at home.
Link to later in stanza,
Therefore, not loath, we lie out here
they are not upset with their death knowing it had meaning
Exposure : ‘Slowly our ghosts drag home: glimpsing the sunk fires’
Their bodies died in the trenches. Drag means that even their spirt is left weak. Sunk fires could be the fire of battle they are leaving, or the fire at home which is weak due to how few are left.
Could also be the soldiers going home on leave/once war ends, but their bodies have been so strongly weakened by the war, they are ghosts of their former selves
Exposure : Ending structure
But nothing happens - cyclical structure
- symbolises how conflict is uncontrollable and the power it has causes it to repeat again
Exposure : ‘Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army’
The daytime brings no joy to the soldiers. It make no change - another day of an endless war.
Exposure : ‘Black with snow’
Colour symbolism
Exposure: “Sudden Successive flights of bullets streak the silence”
- sibilance of s sounds - symbolises the bullets as soft and gentle to give the true power to nature and the elements
