exposure

Question 1

T M I E W T K U (power of nature & reality of conflict)

Answer 1

the merciless iced east winds that knive us ….

• personification & imagery of the wind suggests that the weather is like a deliberately vicious and inescapable enemy - men are faced with double peril , enemy soldiers & risk of hypothermia from exposure
• displays the conflict between man and nature during WW1 as well as the power nature has over man
• ellipsis creates tension as the men are waiting for something to happen.

Question 2

W T B T O D (reality of conflict , effects , loss of absence

Answer 2

We turn back to our dying

• phrase ‘turn back to’ dying is ironically causal , Owen expresses this almost nonchalantly , as if the soldiers were expecting + waiting to die
• whole stanza itself is a Volta , a change in focus within the poem, the stanza acts as the soldiers delusion , there thoughts of reunion & a happy peaceful end to life.
• The stanza ends with “we turn back to our dying”. Cutting away the soldiers delusion only to return back to the harsh reality where death nearing is anything but peaceful

Question 3

what does the ABBAC rhyme scheme suggest

Answer 3

The established rhyme scheme is broken by the final line which reflects the built up momentum of anticipation in the battle never being released

Question 4

what structure is there

Answer 4

cyclical structure - last stanza ends with the same words as the first one reflecting the monotony of life in the trenches & the absence of change