Exposure

Question 1

Exposure quotes

Answer 1

“merciless iced east winds that knive us” - nature personified in sinister, fearful way
“Twitching agonies of men” - uncomfortable, unsettling imagery
“Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence” - sibilance, gun shots or strong winds
“Pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for out faces” - fricatives, nature personified again to be invasive/evil

Question 2

Form of Exposure

Answer 2

Rhyme scheme is consistent so that the 5th line stands out, emphasising its message. The consistency of the rhyme scheme and the regular stanzas shows the monotony/repetitiveness of war

Owen builds tension throughout stanzas only to break it with the 5th line. 5th line creates anti-climax - mirrors how soldiers must stay alert, yet nothing ever happens in the end (futility of war)

Pararhymes. By only rhyming the consonants, Owen leaves the reader unsatisfied to mirror soliders’ feelings of unease (reader anticipating rhyme in the same way soldiers are anticipating battle)

Question 3

Structure of Exposure

Answer 3

Cyclical structure of “but nothing happens”

Anaphora of “but nothing happens” emphasies futility of war

Caesura in “slowly our ghosts drag us home: glimpsing the sunk fires” - separates home (warmth) from the trenches (cold)

First 3 lines end with ellipses, emphasises soldiers waiting/boredom. Slows the pace down, forcing reader to experience the same frustration of waiting as the soldiers