Mametz Wood

Question 1

Context - Mametz Wood

Answer 1

Mametz is a village in Northern France; the woodland nearby was the site of an especially bloody battle during World War I, in which around 4,000 men from the British Army’s Welsh Regiment were killed

Question 2

Key themes and poems to link with

Answer 2

War, suffering, patriotism – Dulce et Decorum Est, A Wife in London, The Soldier

Fragility of soldiers/human life – Manhunt

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

The poem’s structure is in regular tercet stanzas almost reflecting the neat linear pattern of a ploughed field. However, at times the length of the lines change, with longer lines breaking up the neat form. This disrupted pattern could reflect the ‘chits of bone’ rising out of the ground and disrupting our attempts to forget the past.

Question 4

Meaning of poem

Answer 4

An acknowledgment of the 38th welsh division who lost 4000 men during the first battle of the Somme.

Question 5

Language - use or alliteration

Answer 5

Fricative sounds - the fricative sounds ring together as if the reader is discovering them as the line progresses, each one an obvious and sudden presence. This mimics the way the farmers accidentally find body parts in the soil.

Question 6

Hello I am Nafay

Answer 6

I am gay