Exposure - Wilfred Owen

Question 1

EXPOSURE - STRUCTURE

Answer 1

• large amount of ellipses, caesura and repetition to create an on-going sense of waiting and boredom
• eight stanzas with a consistent use of a half line to end; reinforces the sense of stasis throughout the poem - nothing is happening
• use of para-rhyme; words which appear to rhyme yet sound wrong when read, creates the sense of unsettledness in the poem which the soldiers are feeling
• use of onomatopoeia and alliteration to emphasise the atmosphere and sound of the weather

Question 2

EXPOSURE - CONTEXT

Answer 2

• Wilfred Owen was a soldier and officer in WWI and saw the horror of conditions on the front line
• the war itself was often criticised because of a huge loss of life for very little gain
• Owen’s poems were often angry that the soldiers were in muddy, dangerous trenches while the generals behind the lines were living in comfort
• he tried to show the truth of the conditions to people back home

Question 3

EXPOSURE - AUTHOR

Answer 3

Wilfred Owen

Question 4

EXPOSURE - KEY IDEAS

Answer 4

• defies the convention of war and looks at the weather assaulting the soldiers, not another army. this is to highlight the unknown horrors of war to people at home
• the poet uses repetition and a consistent structure to create the static tone of the poem. this lack of change adds to the tone of despair
• the alliteration is used to create a sense of atmosphere to the weather and to draw parallels to the violence of war and weather

Question 5

EXPOSURE - KEY QUOTES

Answer 5

“the merciless iced east winds that knife us”
“

Question 6

Analysis - quote

Question 7

Analysis - quote

Question 8

Analysis - quote