Exposure

Question 1

The soldiers are tired and the winds cause suffering and cold

Answer 1

“Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us…” (1)

Question 2

The soldiers feel many emotions in quick succession, showing why their brain hurts

Answer 2

“Low drooping flares confuse our memory of the salient… / Worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous, / But nothing happens.” (3 - 5)

Question 3

The effects of nature on objects is personified to show the pain it causes to the men, specifically on the wire

Answer 3

“Watching, we hear the mad gusts tugging on the wire, / Like twitching agonies of men among its brambles.” (6 - 7)

Question 4

Dawn does not bring hope but suggests more danger will come

Answer 4

“Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army / Attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey, / But nothing happens.” (13 - 15)

Question 5

When sudden bullets fly by, nature is still more brutal

Answer 5

“Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence. / Less deathly than the air that shudders black with snow,” (16 - 17)

Question 6

Soldiers remember past and wonder if they are dying

Answer 6

“Deep into grassier ditches. So we drowse, sun-dozed, / Littered with blossoms trickling where the blackbird fusses, / - Is it that we are dying?” (23 - 25)

Question 7

The soldiers remember their homes, but believe those back at home do not care about their fate, or that they will never return home anymore

Answer 7

“Shutters and doors, all closed: on us the doors are closed, - / We turn back to our dying.” (29 - 30)

Question 8

In some small, potential positivity, the soldiers believe they are sacrificing themselves for the greater good

Answer 8

“Since we believe not otherwise can kind fires burn; / Nor ever suns smile true on child, or field, or fruit.” (31 - 32)

Question 9

Even death changes nothing

Answer 9

“Pause over half-known faces. All their eyes are ice, / But nothing happens.” (39 - 40)