Exposure Flashcards
‘Our brains ache, in the merciless …
Iced east winds that knive us ‘
‘The poignant …
Misery of dawn ‘
‘Dawn massing in the east …
Her melancholy army ‘
‘Sudden successive flights ….
Of bullets streak the silence ‘ .
‘We cringe in holes …
Back on forgotten dreams ‘
‘Slowly our ghosts …
Drag home ‘
Who wrote exposure ?
Wilfred owen
What is the poem about ?
The horrific conditions the soldiers face whilst waiting for the enemy.
What does the title ‘ exposure ‘ suggest ?
Suggests vunerability could be from weather , being exposed by the government or the enemy fire .
‘Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knives us ‘ . What techniques are used here and what do they suggest ?
Techniques used in the first part ‘ our brains ache ‘ , collective first person pronoun . Personification of the wind being the enemy suggests that they are fighting not only the enemy but the weather aswell . Sibilance ‘s’ sounds reflect the power of the wind itself
What group of words in the first stanza highlight the numerous conflicting emotions the soldiers face ?
Confuse , curious , nervous and worried
‘But nothing happens ‘ used in the first stanza . What does this suggest ?
Boredom and mundanity
What technique is used in the phrase ‘ watching, we hear ‘ and what does this suggest ?
Juxtaposition suggests the continuation of chaos
What is one quote from the second stanza that shows the power of the wind ? What technique is used ?
Personification of ‘ mad gusts tugging on the wire ‘
The phrase ‘ Like twitching agonies of men among its brambles ‘ is what technique and creates what image ?
Simile and shows the pain caused by nature
‘What are we doing here ‘ suggests what ?
He questions the reason for war
‘The poignant misery of dawn ‘ creates what ?
Creates an opposite effect to what we expect . New chance for more suffering .
‘Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army ‘ is what technique and shows what ?
Personification of the army , but its the weather instead.
‘But nothing happens ‘ is on the last line of what two stanzas ?
The first stanza and the third one
What is the tone like in the first three stanzas ?
Quite mundane as nothing is happening, soldiers are waiting for an attack but all they get is the attack from the weather .
When does the tone shift in pace ?
Line 16 stanza 4
What technique is used in the phrase ‘ Sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence ‘ ?
Sibilance show the fast movement of bullets . Change in tone and pace .
What phrase shows that even the bullets don’t compare to the effects of the weather , in stanza 4 ?
‘Less deadly than the air ‘
What does the constant fricative alliteration in stanza four of ‘f’ s show ?
Shows relentless nature of the weather
‘Is it that we are dying ‘ on the last line of the fifth stanza shows what ?
He himself is answering his own question . What are they doing there ?
The repeated ‘w’ sounds in stanza four show what ?
The power of the wind
In stanza five , what is the poet thinking about ?
His memories before war
‘Slowly our ghosts drag home ‘ , techniques shown here ?
Assonance , word ghosts ‘o’ sounds shows the fictional journey back to reality
What phrase shows that they are turning back from their memories in stanza six ?
‘We turn back from our dying ‘
What phrase in stanza seven shows that their faith is being diminished ?
‘For love of God seems dying ‘
‘Tonight’ is what technique and what kind of structure does it link to ?
Temporal dexis and it links to a cyclical structure . At the start it was dawn and now it is night.
‘This frost will fasten on this mud and us ‘ suggest what about humans and nature ?
He comes to the realisation that humans are nothing more than nature .
‘All their eyes are ice, But nothing happens ‘ . Suggests what ? What line is this in the poem ?
Everyone is metaphorically dead and it shows a cyclical structure which suggests that nothing changes and nothing happens .
The repetition of ‘we’ throughout the poem shows what ?
That all the soldiers are feeling things he is describing . They are all effected. .
Give four things to say about structure in this poem ?
- Collective voice , shows everyone is effected
- Each stanza ends with a half line which shows the lack of hope
- Line 16 has volta which highlights how quickly war can change pace
- Regular rhyme scheme
What are poems to compare for the theme of reality of war ?
Charge of the light brigade , remains and war photographer
What is one poem to compare for theme of lack of hope ?
London
What are the poems to compare for the theme of power of nature ?
Ozymandias , prelude and storm on the island
