Mametz Wood Flashcards
Analyse the imagery of care in the first stanza.
‘Found them’ implies a genuine care from the farmers, an image that is further strengthened by the end phrase of the stanza – ‘as they tended the land back into itself’.
Describe ‘the wasted young’ in the first stanza.
The reference to the soldiers as ‘the wasted young’ shows again the futility and the violence of the war; Owen Sheers is writing in a generation where war is seen as wasteful rather than honourable, and the epitaph ‘the wasted young’ also brings to light how very childish the soldiers must have seemed for their bones to appear as though belonging to smaller men.
Describe the imagery of land in relation to the soldiers in the first stanza.
The land, as well as the soldiers, were brutalized by the war, and the fact that their remains have lain there for years without being uncovered shows the selfishness of war.
Describe the imagery within ‘a chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade’.
This shows both the fragmented nature of the remains, as well as their fragility. China plates are generally considered to be priceless, as well as delicate, and the bones have been elevated from natural resources to this such image as well.
What does the fact the soldiers died together mean?
It is as though their bond has transcended beyond death, allowing them to remain a community and a unit even after they have lain undiscovered in the mud for years. This sort of closeness is the very same one that Wilfred Owen spoke so highly of in his poems.
Describe the use of ‘relic’
‘Relic’ itself is a word that has heavy religious connotations; their sacrifice has transcended mere sacrifice and become near mythical.
Describe the use of ‘nesting machine guns’
Implies a pollution of the wood itself; the invasion of the German army acts much like a virus.
Why is ‘the boots that outlasted them’ oxymoronic?
It was largely considered that boots were the most short-lived article of clothing in World War One.
