Exposure Flashcards
Who wrote Exposure?
Wilfred Owen
What does Wilfred Owen describe in his poem?
Experiences in WW1 in trench warfare
When was Wilfred born?
1893
When did Owen Join the British Army?
1915
When did Owen die in battle?
4th November 1918
What did Owen Originally pursued?
A carer in the church
Why did Owen give up on a carer in the Church?
Owen gave up when he felt that the church failed to care for those in it’s locality
Owen was a avid (big fan) of a poet called…
John Keats
Exposure can be compared to
‘Charge of the Light Brigade’
Owen is very keen to dispel what in his poetry?
The myth of the focus on patriotic verse which praised the bravery of the soldiers, a glorified battled - Other poets said it was honourable and exciting
In the 191, public hadn’t experienced a major war for over…
100 years
What was Owen keen to do?
expose the reality of war
Owen didn’t believe like many war poets before him of the “_____________________________________” of war
” glory, honour might, majesty, dominion, or power” of war. Owen believed war was pointless, and this was a recurring theme throughout his poetry - that war is futile
In November he wrote to his mother saying:
“The marvel is that we did not all die of cold. As a matter of fact, only one of my party actually froze to death therefore he could go”
“Be got back, but I’m not able to tell, how many have ended in hospital.”
What does “ The marvel is that we did not all die of cold. As a matter of fact, only one of my party actually froze to death therefore he could go” mean?
The way in which soldiers in the trench suffer in the harsh weather conditions dreaming of home, questioning why they are there, thinking why they are there, about their reasons for being in war, what they are doing, and whether it’s worthwhile.
The weather conditions could be seen as a bigger threat than the…
enemy soldiers but also the fact that the poems of Wilfred Owen actually refer to the exposure for the truth for the British public of war.
Owen does say a quote about the view of war by saying what?
“Look, war is not glorious. it’s not brave and honourable and sort of romantic. It’s awful, and I’m going to expose the reality of the war to you” - link to suffering eg trenches
VERSE: “Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us….. wearied we keep awake because the night was silent….
Highly emotive (emotional) vocab choices “wearied” throughout the verse
“Knive us” = pararhyme
Nervously on edge
What does pararhyme mean?
words at the end of a line finish in consonant sounds eg silent / sallient
Use of personification throughout the text:
"Winds that knive us" "Mad gusts" "Down massing in the east her melacoly army" "Air that shudders" "Pale flakes with fingering stealth"
Why are there links to power of nature?
- “less deadly bullets” very little difference to the soldiers between weather and enemy. BOTH ARE KILLING THEM.
What happened at the ending of the poem?
The ending of the poem is very important - establishes penultimate verse that soldiers see themselves as a necessary sacrifice to save lives of the public the poem ends with the contrasting “but nothing happens”
Poem ends how it began.
repetitive cycle
highlighting again the futility of war
What other poems that link to exposure?
Bayonet Charge, The charge of the Light Brigade, Remains, war Photographer
