exposure Flashcards
wilfred owen
summary
the speaker describes the terrifying experience of a night in the trenches in the first world war; it shows the trauma experienced by the soldiers
“our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us”
- nature is personified in a sinister way to create fear in the listener
- “brain” suggests the psychological impact of war, its pain as he has to witness seeing “half-known faces” die or the physical brain and the physical ache from the cold
“what are we doing here?”
rhetorical questions implies that the speaker is questioning his motivation to fight
“we turn back to our dying”
blunt, passive statement shows the soldiers’ disillusionment with their cause
“for the love of god seems dying”
religious reference implies that there is an absence of moral standards dictated by religion in this situation, emphasising the cruelty of it
context
owen was disillusioned by his role as a soldier - he was known to suffer from shell shock (authentic first person view)
rhyme scheme
consistency of the fifth line rhyming shows the monotony of war (the repeated use of a rhyme pattern in the fifth line of each stanza reflects the repetitive and unchanging nature of war; just as the rhyme scheme stays the same and becomes predictable, the experience of war is portrayed as monotonous, dull, and unvarying)
cyclical structure
the last line of the first and last stanza is “but nothing happens” which connects the end to the beginning, emphasising the fact that nothing has happened in that time
religious references
owen presents the soldiers to be carrying out their moral duty to protect innocent people - *for love of god seems dying” shows the association to christianity with morality, showing the soldier’s selflessness
a similar sense of acceptance of death is shown in “we turn back to our dying”
sibilance
“sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence” shows nature to be the enemy
- it mimics the sound of gunfire
- serpent-like connotations of the sibilance used
- sinister atmosphere
personification of nature
nature is presented as the antagonist, and as a bigger threat than the actual enemy
“dawn massing in the east her melancholy army” juxtaposes the nurturing role traditionally associated with the female nature figure with the negative connotations of the war
(simultaneously) owen minimises the significance of the actual fight occurring - “less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow” through the deathlike connotations of the colour, ironically suggests that the soldiers have gone away to fight with nature instead
reality of war
- boredom: the passage of time is represented by the seasons changing from “snow-dazed” to “sun-dosed” showing how long are they in the trenches for just waiting
- suffering: owen negatively personifies the wind representing an individual a great deal of pain
- fear: “wearied, we stay wake because the night is silent” shows how they are scared to fall asleep though “nothing happens”
comparison with the prelude (william wordsworth)
- similarities: both poets present nature as an inescapable force and highlight the overwhelming influence of nature which changes the perspective of the listener causing them to realise their own insignificance
- differences: exposure - nature power comes from its sheer aggression created by the violent connotations of “iced east wins that knife us“ and “dawn massing the east her melancholy army“
prelude - nature is given power due to its great expanse shown in the visual imagery of the speech “horizons utmost boundary“ and “huge peak”
comparison with charge of the light brigade (alfred tennyson)
- similarities: both poets repeat phrases to criticise how violent and military mistakes continue to repeat themselves, tennyson repeats “six hundred” to emphasise the vast numbers of people lost in the war, owen repeats “nothing happens” to show how they are being forced to wait around in the cold in the trenches for no reason
- differences: tennyson was a poet laureate (a poet honoured for their work/ achievements) so couldn’t be outwardly critical of the government; owen didn’t have these restrictions as he was a soldier in the front lines whilst writing this poem
tennyson is critical of rash action in this poem shown by the brash (reckless) verb “plunged” whereas owen detests the waiting in the trenches
comparison with bayonet charge - ted hughes
- similarities: both poets depict soldiers who have reached the battle field and realised that it is very different to what they have been ‘sold’ - owen by using a rhetorical question (“what are we doing here?”) and hughes through the simile (“a rifle numb as smashed arm”)
- differences: exposure - the soldier seems to seem relatively ready to fight shown by “nothing happens” however bayonet charge - “almost stopped” shows his reluctance
