Mametz wood - Owen sheers

Question 1

where was he born, where was he raised?

Answer 1

born in Fiji, raised in south Wales

Question 2

what has his work focused on

Answer 2

the way people identify with land and country

Question 3

what is he interested in

Answer 3

loss, separation and the many different borders people create between themselves

Question 4

what was sheers

Answer 4

a poet, author, playwright and university lecture

Question 5

when did he write th poem

Answer 5

in 2005

Question 6

what is mametz wood to do with

Answer 6

the battle of the somme - 1916, WW1

Question 7

how were the soldiers grouped together

Answer 7

from where they came from
e..g. 38th Welsh division

Question 8

how many men were lost

Answer 8

4000

Question 9

what was the welsh division viewed as

Answer 9

ill - trained and poorly led

Question 10

why is the title of this poem important

Answer 10

it could foreground the themes of place, war and death

Question 11

“for years afterwards”

Answer 11

time phrase suggests that the impact of war is long lasting

Question 12

“found them -“

Answer 12

found = soldiers are passive
them = soldiers are anonymous

Question 13

“the wasted young”

Answer 13

sheer uses a critical tone when describing he soldiers deaths
suggests sheer thought so many young people lost there lives

Question 14

in stanza 2, how are the body parts connected

Answer 14

bone - shoulder blade - finger - skull
the bones are not connected
war is shown to be destructive

Question 15

“a chit” “relic”

Answer 15

the metaphors all compare the soldiers to fragile things

Question 16

sheers has used sound patterns, what could they represent

Answer 16

draws attention to broken images, may allude to welsh context

Question 17

“and broken birds egg of a skull”

Answer 17

the juxtaposition between birds egg and skull highlights the destructive force of war

Question 18

“they were told not to walk but run”

Answer 18

critical tone - sheers is directing it at the people in charge of the welsh division

Question 19

“nesting machine guns”

Answer 19

comparing guns to birds makes hem sound predatory

Question 20

what is the significance of the last line being end stopped in the 3rd stanza

Answer 20

creates a sense of finality = death

Question 21

“earth stands sentinel”

Answer 21

this suggests that the earth is guarding and watching out for the soldiers
implying it is working with them

Question 22

“reminders of what happened”

Answer 22

vague, euphemistic language suggests that the atrocities of war re too terrible to think about

Question 23

“like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin”

Answer 23

hopeful image as wounds do eventually heal

Question 24

“this morning”

Answer 24

the adverbial phrase indicates that wars impact is still being felt today

Question 25

"a broken mosaic of bone'

Answer 25

metaphor hints at soldiers complete destruction also suggests that there is something beautiful

Question 26

"dance macabre"

Answer 26

a.k.a dance of the dead acts as a reminder that no matter who you are in life, death will unite you with your fellow man a reminder of the fragility in life

Question 27

"their socketed heads being tilted back at an angle"

Answer 27

the repetition of harsh plosive sounds could mimic the machine gun fire

Question 28

"those that have them"

Answer 28

embedded clause embassies the devastation of war

Question 29

sheer uses shocking images in the 6th stanza, what could this emphasise

Answer 29

the brutality and wastefulness of war

Question 30

"with this unearthing"

Answer 30

by suggesting that the soldiers are freed but he unearthing sheers may be conveying the idea that we must acknowledge the atrocities of war if we are to move on from it

Question 31

"sung" "tounges"

Answer 31

end rhyme emphasis the idea of song

Question 32

"slipped...absent"

Answer 32

the soldiers are presented as passive and powerless again - sheers reinforces the idea from the beginning of the poem

Question 33

what type of poem is mametz wood

Answer 33

its an elegy, a sad mournful poem there is a slow reflective tone which is created via enjambment and caesura

Question 34

what could the length, size and shape of the stanzas represent

Answer 34

neat parallel lines could represent the ploughed field

Question 35

what is the meaning for this poem

Answer 35

- about farmers finding remains of the welsh division in the woods, years after the war had ended - the remains are comparable to fragments, showing how violent their deaths were - after finding fragments they discover a link/chain of soldiers who are frozen at the scene of death

Question 36

what is the mood for this poem

Answer 36

- being an elegy this poem as a sad, reflective tone - a critical tone is also used which suggests the soldiers deaths were unnecessary

Question 37

what was the motivation for writing this poem

Answer 37

- sheers is a welsh poet so he may have wanted to remember the soldiers history thatched been forgotten about - he tells us that their deaths were unnecessary and criticizes those responsible for their deaths

Question 38

how does this poem link to the theme of power

Answer 38

the soldiers are preened as being powerless and sheer has the power to spread awareness

Question 39

how does this poem link to the theme of war

Answer 39

about the battle of somme

Question 40

how does this pome link to the theme of time

Answer 40

time hasn't helped the wounds cause by war

Question 41

how does this poem link tot he theme of place

Answer 41

about a specific place and mans reaction with the place

Question 42

how does this poem link to the theme of man

Answer 42

about a group of men

Question 43

how does this poem link to the theme of death

Answer 43

highlights the soldiers deaths