Exposure

Question 1

“like a dull rumour of some other war”

Answer 1

“rumour”

-surreal experience, feeling removed from it

Question 2

“dawn massing in the east her melancholy army/ Attacks once more in ranks”

Answer 2

referring to the weather- nature is the enemy

• “melancholy”- sad atmosphere juxtaposed with “dawn”
• the morning symbolises hope,new beginnings
• suggests that the war has only just begun- it can get much worse
• this also emphasises the juxtaposition between the expectation of war and the painful reality

“ranks”
the war has tainted everything- even nature

“attacks once more” - incessant attack

enjambment emphasises how unexpected the weather is in its attack

Question 3

“But nothing happens” (repetition)

Answer 3

life in the trenches is monotonous

• the conjuction “but” feels anticlimatic
• stanza builds up the threat of danger even though nothing happens- reflective of life in there, lots of waiting

Question 4

“slowly our ghosts drag home”

Answer 4

-“ghosts” they are nearly dead mentally
souls are diminishing/deteriorating
-alternatively could be that they are delusional, hallucinating- trauma from the war

“slowly” indicates the struggle to move, and feeling lost- like they have lost their purpose

Question 5

“For love of God seems dying”

Answer 5

double entrendre
strong belief in God at the time
-the war was so excruiatingly painful that they were losing their faith.