exposure Flashcards
merc_____ iced ____ _____ that _____ us
merciless iced east winds that knife us
personification
but ________ h______
but nothing happens
refrain
like _________ agonies of ___
like twitching agonies of men
simile
w___ are __ _____ here?
what are we doing here?
rhetorical question
__ only ____ war lasts, ____ soaks, and clouds ___ st____
we only know war lasts, rain soaks, and clouds sag stormy
what could the title mean
the weather that the soldiers are ‘expos[ed]’.
However, Owen is also “expos[ing]” the harsh, undignified aspects of conflict that are never portrayed in propaganda or poems glorifying war.
facts about wilfred owen
Wilfred Owen is one of the most well-known WW1 poets who was famously anti-war.
He fought in the war and this poem is a realistic, unheroic portrayal of fighting.
Owen went to war on two occasions and was killed on the second.
loss of humanity
There is a sense that the men lose their humanity and dignity. This is suggested through phrases such as “Slowly, our ghosts drag home” and “we cringe in holes”.
This depiction is the antithesis (opposite) to images of heroism soldiers would have seen before the war.
pointlessness of war
The pointlessness of war is emphasised throughout. The speaker in the poem seems to have lost sight of what he is fighting for.
Weather and boredom
The weather and boredom are presented as the real enemy of the soldiers.
The soldiers are anxious and afraid and each new day brings no hope but more misery and despair.
Lasting effects of war
The speaker hints at the fact that war changes the soldiers irreversibly as they no longer fit in when they return home.
The negative consequences of war are lasting.
what is presented as the real enemy to soldiers in war
weather and boredom
why is the weather personified
to make it sound menacing and deadly.
characterises the weather as the real enemy of the soldiers
language techniques in:
“Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us”
personification
sibilance- highlights the intensity of the pain and brutality of the weather
The poignant misery of dawn begins to grow”
Attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey”
Dawn, usually associated with ideas of light and hope, is here hostile and brings even more suffering.
The colour imagery “grey” conveys ideas of despair and boredom.
military vocab: “Ranks” is a military term and is repeated, reminding the reader that the weather is the soldiers’ enemy.
bleak imagery
Owen uses bleak imagery to highlight the misery of the soldiers in war.
how does “but nothing happens” show the pointlessness of war
Repetition of “but nothing happens” throughout the poem gives the readers a sense of the boredom caused by waiting.
metaphor quotes
slowly our ghosts drag home”- This metaphor suggests that war has sucked all the life out of the soldiers.
It also reminds readers that they are on the brink of death.
all their eyes are ice” - This metaphor describes the extreme effects of the weather.
It implies the soldiers have lost their humanity and are close to breaking point.
first person narrative
The poem is written in the first person. It has many collective, possessive pronouns, such as “we”, “us”, “our”.
This hints at the collective (group) suffering of the soldiers in WW1. It also encourages the reader to share in their pain.
