mametz wood - owen sheers

Question 1

“for years afterwards, the farmers found them - the wasted young.”

Answer 1

the farmer found dead bodies that were not known.

• Adjective “wasted” shows that these young soldiers lost their lives to war and they haven’t properly lived their lives yet.

Question 2

“A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade …broken bird’s egg of a skull.”

Answer 2

shows the fragility of life.

• objects “bone” and “china plate” showing valuable organs and that life is precious as they can be broken easily.
• metaphor “china plate” and “bird’s egg of a skull” showing that the body parts aren’t made to withstand the horrors of war.

Question 3

“they were told to walk, not run, towards the wood and its nesting machine guns.”

Answer 3

shows sympathy for these poor soldiers.

• cynical tone “told” - they might have been able to escape if they weren’t told to run, the poet might be showing his frustration with the orders given as the verb “nesting” shows a predatory action to hunt their prey.

Question 4

“the earth stands sentinel … like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin.”

Answer 4

the earth is trying to protect the soldiers.

• Personification shows that the earth has witnessed the tragic events and wants to protect them till someone finds them.
• noun “sentinel” - can’t rest well due to the horror of war, no peace.
• Simile can be seen as the earth is trying to cleanse itself of damage that has been done.

Question 5

“this morning, … a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm.”

Answer 5

showing the actual graves of soldiers.

• present tense shows that war is still felt even today.
• adjective “mosaic” shows that the 20 soldiers found are all linking arms, they died as a team even till the end.

Question 6

“in boots that outlasted them, their socketed heads tilted back at an angle.”

Answer 6

the condition of the bodies.

• ironic that boots have a stronger lasting life than they do.
• grotesque imagery highlights the pain the soldiers must have felt before their death.

Question 7

“as if the notes they had sung … slipped from their absent tongues.”

Answer 7

they finally have a say in this world, metaphorically.

• The adjective “absent” shows the man was silenced when being commanded to walk and now they have the justice they deserve.

Question 8

CONTEXT

Answer 8

• a previously unknown grave was discovered with bodies of 20 soldiers whilst Sheers were in France.
• he is angry at the cruelty and waste of war
• referencing to the Battle of the Sommes.
• they were told to walk not realising they were walking into a trap.
• the poem was written in 2005
• he said, “elements of the battles are still surfacing… years later.” shows the impact of war on time.
• sheers said the photograph he saw of the grave was an image he can never forget, left an impact on him
• he was involved in a documentary film project whom served with the 30th Welsh Division.