Exposure

Question 1

‘Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us’

Answer 1

• the wind is violently attacking the men, ironic as it isn’t even the enemy attacking
• link to nature suggests the cold is so bitter that they are suffering profoundly in silence
• metaphor conveys the way the soldiers are facing another battle aside from war, symbolising the battle against their patriotism -> rhetoric ‘What are we doing here? demonstrates how the soldiers feel betrayed by their false sense of patriotism, exposes how propaganda was used in WW1
• the ‘wind’ is just a force of air, suggesting the true futility of their battle -> futility of war leads to immense physical torment and pyschological trauma

Question 2

‘sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence’

Answer 2

• sibilance - adds emphasis on the sounds being described - mimics whistles of bullets flying or the whistling of the wind
• bleak imagery reminds the reader of the men’s pain, the awful weather and the lack of hope among the soldiers
• positions nature as the enemy

Question 3

‘For love of God seems dying’

Answer 3

• men begin to lose faith due to the agony they are forced under OR perhaps God’s love for the men itself is being questioned
• religious reference amplifies how futile war is
• depicts war in a harsh light
• modality in ‘seems’ shows the element of doubt in their minds because of the horrific and terrible conditions the men have endured as well as the dreadful, inhumane acts they’ve seen -> difficult to reconcile the theory of a benevolent God with the reality of conflict
• collective nature of the experience also reinforces collective loss of faith

Question 4

‘All their eyes are ice, But nothing happens’

Answer 4

• haunting last line shows nothing is being achieve
• double meaning - their eyes are actually frozen as they are affected by exposure or they are frozen in that they are numb to what they’re doing
• ends in the same way as first stanza, suggesting that even death doesn’t change anything

Question 5

Context

Answer 5

Religious references could be due to Owen’s short career in the church resulting in his view of it being hypocritical as it failed in its duty to take care of its dependants. Written whilst Owen was in the trenches which creates a n authentic first person narrative - in contemporary Britain war was romanticised so he dispelled this by exposing the horrific reality of war. A therapist had advised him to write about his experiences, so his work expresses the true horror of war rather than him internalising it.

Question 6

Structure

Answer 6

Chaotic structure mirrors the chaos and panic of war. The consistency of the rhyme scheme shows the ​monotony of war​, as does the regular stanzas. Builds rich imagery but then simple fifth line creates anti-climax which mirrors how soldiers must stay alert even though nothing ever happens. Pararhyme creates underlying atmosphere of unease - by only rhyming consonants the reader is unsatisfied, mirroring the soldiers unease.