Mametz Wood

Question 1

who wrote Mametz Wood

Answer 1

Owen sheers

Question 2

what war was this poem about

Answer 2

WWI (the battle of the somme)

Question 3

how many welsh men died entering the wood

Answer 3

over 4000

Question 4

4000 men died over how long?

Answer 4

5 days

Question 5

which welsh division entered the wood

Answer 5

38th welsh division

Question 6

why did sheers write this poem

Answer 6

to acknowledge the suffer and sacrifice of welsh soldiers. he felt their bravery went unnoticed and was not honoured

Question 7

what influenced sheers to write this poem (2)

Answer 7

> he was welsh

>he visited the site long after war

Question 8

what is Mametz Wood about?

Answer 8

the unearthing of 20 skeletons years after WWI at Mametz Wood

Question 9

3 words to describe war

Answer 9

• wasteful
• unknown
• long lasting

Question 10

why are regular 3 line verses used

Answer 10

could show the ploughed grass after farmers dug them up

Question 11

what do small stanzas show

Answer 11

the small pieces of bone that are found ‘a chit of bone’

Question 12

why is free verse used

Answer 12

to show the random placement of bones

Question 13

“_____ tongues”

Answer 13

“ABSENT tongues”

Question 14

“the ______ young”

Answer 14

“the WASTED young”

Question 15

what does the quote “the wasted young” show about war

Answer 15

the misleading, destructive and pointless nature of war

Question 16

examples of metaphors

Answer 16

• china plate of a shoulder blade

- broken bird’s egg of a skull

Question 17

what does the line “china plate of a shoulder blade” imply

Answer 17

imply fragility and vulnerability of the soldier’s bodies and how war destroyed them unnaturally

Question 18

“the _____ stands ______”

Answer 18

“the EARTH stands SENTINEL”

Question 19

an example of personification

Answer 19

the earth stands sentinel

Question 20

what could the change in tense “this morning” suggest

Answer 20

horrors and consequences of war are long lasting and still impactful and relevant to this day

Question 21

“absent tongues” what could this mean (3)

Answer 21

• lost potential
• lack of voice to share experiences
• war has silenced them (PTSD)

Question 22

what could the quote “the earth stands sentinel” suggest

Answer 22

• earth watches and protects the soldiers where others failed to
• nature ha snot forgotten them

Question 23

why is graphic description used

Answer 23

to add shock factor

Question 24

example of a simile

Answer 24

“like a wound working a foreign body”

Question 25

what could the line “like a wound working a foreign body” imply

Answer 25

earth is trying to cleanse itself from the trauma of war

Question 26

“_____ plate of a shoulder ______”

Answer 26

“CHINA plate of a shoulder BLADE”

Question 27

what could “the china plate of a shoulder blade” tell us about the soldiers

Answer 27

“china” is easily breakable just like the soldiers. quotation implies they have been reduced to the level of an object.

Question 28

what quote could “the wasted young” link to, why?

Answer 28

“the china plate of a shoulder blade”

reduced to an object which shows their worthlessness (wasted)