Exposure Flashcards
Name of the poet -exposure
Wildred own
How does the first line of the poem convey the power of nature in exposure
‘Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us’- nature is seen as ‘merciless’
Assonance of i ‘in the merciless iced east winds’ slows down the lines mimicing the conditions
Nature is seen to be punishing man and nature is attacking the men in a war
Sibilance of ‘merciless iced east winds’ mimics the wind
What do the length of the lines representing -exposure
12-13 syllables signifying the length of time the men are experiencing in the harsh conditions
What is Owen suggetsing in the third line -exposure
‘Wearied we’ alliteration slows down our speech conveying how long it takes for them to wait
‘Keep awake because the night is silent’ juxtapositon of natural human behaviour. Normslly people sleep becausenit is silent
What is shown by the asyndetic listing -exposure
• lack of pause between the descriptors increases the pace of the line, mimicking the heightened heartbeat and racing thoughts of the soldiers
Why did Owen create poems like Exposure -exposure
To dispel ‘the old lie’ by exposing the horrific reality of war
What is conveyed in line 13 stanza 3 -exposure
Personification of weather ‘massing’ in the East implies that even the forces of natyre are arryed against the soliders
“melancholy army” can be seen as a metaphor for the cold, harsh weather the soldiers must endure, emphasising their relentless suffering.
What is conveyed line 14 stanza 3 -exposure
Repetition of ‘ranks’ and assonance of a ‘attacks once more in ranks’ shows the attack from nature is endless
Pathetic fallacy of clouds ‘shivering’ conveying the cold soldiers
How is nature presented in stanza 5 -exposure
Soldiers escape in their minds: ‘blossoms’ are snow flakes, ‘black bird fusses’ is the wind
‘We drowse, sun dozed’ people feel sleepy when warm however the soldiers are in harsh conditions. This could show how Owen feels like he is going to die/faint.
Rhyme scheme of the poem -exposure
Regular rhyme scheme (ABBAC)
What does the rhetorical question of stanza 2 show -exposure
‘What are we doing here?’ implies the speaker is questioning his motivation to fight even in the harsh conditions (power of nature)
What does the start of stanza 4 create an image of -exposure
‘Sudden successive flight’ creates a horrific image due to the use of sibilance and fricatives which can be interpretted as violent, harsh noises.
How is nature further personified to be evil in stanza 5 -exposure
‘Pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces’ snow is seen to be personified
What does the end of stanza 7 show -exposure
‘For love of God seems dying’ implies the lack fo religious imposed morslity remaining in the situation which shows the cruelty of nature
What does the end of stanza 6 show -exposure
‘We turn our back to the dying’ passive statement show sthe soldiers disillusionment with their cause shown by their inability to help those in need shoeing the severity of nsture.
What does the reference of ‘brains’ in the second word show -exposure
Pyschlogicsal impact war has on the soldiers
How is the monotomy of the war shown -exposure
It is shown by the consistent rhyme scheme and regular stanzas
How is the reality of the soldiers conveyed by the imagery -exposure
Rich imagery throughout the stanza and then the fifth line creates an anti-climax. Mimics how soldiers stay alert highlighting futility of war
How are pararhymes used in the poem -exposure
Owen create an undelying atmosphere of unease ‘winds that knife us’ and ‘curious, nervous’ consonants only rhymed sense of unsatisfaction of the reader to mirror unease felt by the soldier
What does the cyclical structure of the poem demonstrate -exposure
‘But nothing happens’ last line of first and kast stanza emphasise the fact that nothing has happened over the time
How is anaphora used -exposure
‘But nothing happens’ highlights futility of war leadinng us to question ‘what are we doing here?’
Leading us to reject war
How is caesura used in the poem -exposure
‘Slowly our ghost drag home: glimpsing the sunk fires’ depicts the soldiers to be imagining the warmth of their homes. Barrier between the areas since they must stay in the cold
How is ellipses sued in the poem -exposure
‘East winds that knive is..’
‘The night is silent…’
‘Our memory of salient…’
Emphasises the waiting of boredom of soldiers. Slowers reader down to force them to experience the same pain,frustration and anticipation
‘Less deadlybthan the air that shudders blacl with snow’ what does this quote suggest -exposure
Death kink connotations of black suggest the soldiers are fightigng nature then the opposition. The ongoing battle is shown through the auditory imagery of ‘gunnery rumbles’
How are the soldiers presented to be forgotten -exposure
Metaphor of ‘on us doors are closed’ implies that those at home forget about the soldiers.
‘This frost will fasten on this mud and us ‘soldiers viewed as dispensable (indistinguishable from mud)
How is the soldiers seen to be suffering -exposure
‘Mad gust tugging on the wire like twitching agonies’ negative personification of wind
Similarities with COTLB and Exposure
Tennyson is critical of military leader deciisons by bluntly declaring ‘someone had blundered’ and ‘honour the Light the Brigade’ then the leaders. Owen is similar as he says the soldiers ste ‘worried by silence’ showing their authority is gone
Both repeat phrases. Tennyson repeats ‘six hundred’ to emphasise loss of lives whilst Owen repeats ‘nothing happens’ to show that they are forced to wait
Similarities with BC and Exposure
Both poets depict how soldiers viewed the war to be different then they had.The rhetorical question ‘what are we doing here?’ (Owen) and in BC it is heon by ‘a rifle numb as a smahed arm’
Pyschlogical elements of fighting is addressed in BC this is shown by ‘was he the hand pointing that second?’ questioning the motivation and in Exposure ‘we turn back to our dying’ and ‘but nothing happens’ shows pointlessness of war
Differnces in BC and Exposure
In exposure the soldier seems relatively prepared to fight shown through the repetition ‘nothign happens’. Contrastingly, the soliderw in Bayonet charge ‘alomst stopped’ showing his extreme reluctance.
Differences COTLB and Exposure
Tennyson glorifies warafre as he was a poet laueate shown through ‘ glory’ , ‘honour’ and ‘noble’. Owen did not have these restrictions and was able to focus on the brutsl nature of warfare.
Tennyson is critical of rash action in the poem shown through the brashed verb ‘plunged’ whereas Own dislikes waiting in the tenches
COTLB is fast paced shown through the use of dactylic dimeter. However, Exposure may seem slow paced through the use of its cyclical structure
