Exposure

• Exposure


  Written by Wilfred Owen
• Form


  The long lines are used to slow the pace and exhibit the feelings of the soldiers during this war in the cold. = mimics the length of time they are being exposed.

  There are half rhymes to unsettle us within the poem.

  Every stanza consists of five lines, one of which has one short line at the end, to suggest the poet is in control. The repetition of 'but nothing happens' marks a political message. The form conveys the poems purpose which is for the reader to feel shocked about the conditions.
• Context


  Within different points
• Themes


  Power of nature

  Effects of conflict

  Reality of conflict

  Loss and absence
• Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knive us.../Wearied we keep awake because the night is silent...'

  This contrasts our expectations of the enemy in war not being the opposition but nature. The nature is fighting against them as a result of the horror and amount of land destroyed. The assonance of the repeated 'i' slows down the pace to mimic the feelings of the soldier being out in the cold for a long time. Also we our expectations are challenged because we would expect a silent night would allow them time to sleep or relax without stress but it is the opposite, this is to suggest war turns everything upside down. Suggests the enemy could be preparing an attack and reflects a tired tone through 'wearied we... awake' the 'w' here is used to draw out the line even further to convey the long length of time the soldiers are experiencing.
• Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army / Attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey'


  There is a personification here of the weather arming its self up and having better protection than the soldiers do. The use of 'massing' here suggests the danger is larger from the weather. Also the use of pathetic fallacy here 'melancholy' to reflect the emotions of the soldiers but also to depict the weather doesn't want to be this way but it needs to protect the great horrors of war from attacking nature. This was much like many soldiers who didn't have the choice to fight. The repetition of 'ranks ' and the assonance 'a' sound suggests the attack from nature is endless and the soldiers can do nothing about it. Lastly we are painted a picture of all the soldiers shivering in these trenches together, the idea of it only being 'grey' shows it is not a personal attack on the soldier but just something the weather has to do.
• So we drowse, sun-dozed / Littered with blossoms trickling where the blackbird fusses. / -Is it that we are dying'


  We then focus on the soldiers escape from the horror in their minds, there is an abundance of word association to summer; the soldier concentrates on things he can see currently. He can see 'blossoms' which are covered in snow but imagines them as spring like blossoms, this could also be to connote they use this as hope. We are then introduced to the blackbird which are usually sing after rain and are joyous creatures but Owen presents them as a nuisance to show the extent to which nature is against them. Also the blackbirds irritate him like the wind does. We associate the 'blossoms' with beauty but the idea of 'littered' give a negative perspective as they are rubbish whereas they would have usually been seen in great amounts. Owen also reflects on the sun making them drowsy which normally sugests relaxation but here it would be a threat as you may die whilst sleeping from frostbite. He uses the sun as the enemy, which is able to make them fall asleep and feel drowsy which is why he questions if he is dying. Also he can feel his mind slowing down and having allusions where the snow is like blossom and suggests to him he feels ill or brain damaged, but also it could be that his brain is giving up and chooses to remember his last memories as happy ones.
• Therefore, not loath, we lie out here; therefore were born, / For love of God seems dying'


  Here he describes more thoughts of home which is why they went out to fight which suggests there is justification for them going out and sacrificing them selves. They then further suggest it is their duty since being born to be patriotic and serve their country. There is however a double meaning of 'lie' which suggests they are tricking them selves into believing this is what we should be doing but really it is not their job. Wilfred Owen has previously written about the fact that it was a disgusting idea to die for ones country in a previous poem, there in this poem he is displaying that it is not a worthwhile sacrifice. This would therefore be a metaphor to suggest that the love for god is dying which is evidenced by the war as it goes against a lot of his principles. Wilfred Owen was going to be a vicar before the war, so this could be an attack on the christian faith.
• Pause over half known faces. All their eyes are ice, / But nothing happens'


  This quote is about burying the soldiers, it could be presenting literal death; the men they are burying have died quickly due to being 'half-known' , or the men have decided not to get to know each other as personal attachments are not good for your emotional health in the war, as you would gain a psyhological attachment to them so if they died then it would affect you largley. This idea is supported by the idea of the burial party having eyes like 'ice' because war has taken away the empathetic qualities of war. But also the idea of 'half - known' faces could be due to the masses of people dying, going into and coming out of the camps everyday. 'Their eyes are ice', the soldiers may have died with open eyes and the cold weather has made them frozen like ice cubes. Also 'but nothing happens' suggests he wants a political change or a release from war through death.