Mametz Wood Flashcards
Poet
Owen Shears
Structure/Form
7x 3-line stanzas. The poet concentrates on a different aspect of the event in each stanza. The length of the lines changes. In some cases (for instance lines 4 and 12) the longer lines very clearly break up the neat form of the poem. These suggest the uneven ploughed field or the chits of bone rising out of the ground.
The use of full-stops shows there is a clear, regular structure within the poem: a single stanza is followed by a pair of stanzas, then another single stanza is followed by another pair. The final, seventh stanza acts as a conclusion.
This structure reflects the changing focus of the poem – from the land (the single stanzas one and four) then bones and people (the paired stanzas that follow).
The final stanza then combines these three elements into a single image: the ‘unearthed’ skulls singing in celebration.
There is no specific rhyme scheme in the poem, but the poet makes great use of assonance and alliteration to link the stanzas through sound.
The wasted young
The poet uses emotive language to express his feelings on the futility of war. The adjective ‘wasted’ emphasises the fact that these men were extremely young when they dies a needless death. It also refers to the decaying process of the bodies in the earth. The noun ‘young’ emphasises the fact that these soldiers never grew up to be anything more.
The china plate of a shoulder blade
The metaphor of a china plate is used because it can be easily broken and not repaired. It represents the fact that the soldier’s bones were delicate and fragile; they were also broken and could not be repaired.
They were told to walk, not run
The alliteration in this line creates a hard sound, which reflects the fact that the soldiers were given orders. The soldiers were treated like children, even during scenarios when their lives were at stake. The use of the comma, suggests that the soldiers were being told off for trying to save their own lives.
The surface of the skin
Personification of the soil emphasises the flesh of the dead soldiers it once contained. The sibilance reflects the emergence of the soldiers as the earth pushed them up towards its, surface to be discovered and remembered.
Context
Mametz Wood (7th July 1916) was the scene of fierce fighting during the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. Soldiers of the Welsh division were ordered to take Mametz Wood, the largest area of trees on the battlefield. The generals thought this would take a few hours. It ended up lasting five days with soldiers fighting face-to-face with the enemy. There were 4,000 casualties, with 600 dead. The Welsh succeeded, but their bravery and sacrifice was never really acknowledged.
Context cont.
He writes about places and landscapes but is really interested in people who live or have lived within them. The history and identity of Wales has formed a large part of his development as a poet and writer.
