Exposure Flashcards
What is meant by the title “Exposure”
The poem is meant to be exposing the reality of war and not the glorified, honourable version that war was given. It writes that a lot of war is waiting around and hardly any action takes place in the poem.
It says that they wait and “nothing happened.”
How is war portrayed in “Exposure?”
It is really boring and not very exciting as the soldiers are slowly dying in their trench and not fighting the Germans as they were told before they signed up. This poem exposes the reality of conflict and not the fake version of what happened.
What themes are explored in Exposure?
Reality of conflict Power of humans Power of nature Individual experiences Memory
How is power of nature explored as a theme in Exposure?
It says that the “pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces.” Also that they “drowse sun dozed” and “stare, sun dazed.” The weather beats down their morale in the poem and this plays a large role in the boredom and suffering they endure while at war.
Nature shows a powerful presence in the poem and it would not be the same without it.
How is the reality of conflict explored in Exposure similar to that within Remains?
They both expose the true reality of war and the effects this has on the people during conflict and the aftermath with Remains exploring the deep psychological footprint this leaves on the soldiers brains as he experiences vivid flashbacks and memories of war as a result of his PTSD.
Neither of them paint war as honorable and a glorifying battle for victory against the enemy. They openly “expose” the content of conflict and explicitly explain the effects this has on people and also the environment which links to power of nature.
These poems are almost a warning sign to potential soldiers about what they will be letting themselves in for and what war may do to them. As they both explore very different periods of war with exposure displaying WW2 and Remains exploring modern war in Afghanistan.
