Exposure Flashcards
What does repeating the phrase ‘But nothing happens’ emphasise?
The agony of waiting and that war is not all about action
What are the three main themes in Exposure?
War, Weather and Despair
War, Weather and Despair
The soldiers are in physical pain
The soldiers are developing psychological problems
What does Owen used to unsettle the reader and defy the expected outcome?
Half rhyme. ‘Silent’ ‘sailent’
What is the effect of assonance in Exposure? (Give examples)
Unsettling
‘knive us’ ‘nervous’ ‘silent’ ‘salient’
What poetic technique can you identify: ‘flickering gunnery rumbles’
onomatopoeia
The tone of the poem is?
Despair
What effect does assonance have in the third stanza? (give examples)
The long ‘o’ sounds emphasises the tedious wait for something to occur.
‘know’ ‘grow’ ‘soak’
‘We only know war lasts, rain soaks, and clouds sag stormy’
‘Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow’ uses the technique…
Personification
What themes are evident throughout the poem?
Effects of conflict
Power of nature
Reality of conflict
What is the effect of the sibilance used here: ‘silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous’?
It conveys hushed tones, depicting the soldiers’ worry
What are key ideas in Exposure?
Lasting effects of war Boredom in war Weather as enemy Pointlessness of war Loss of humanity
