Exposure

• Who wrote Exposure?

  Wilfred Owen
• "The merciless iced east winds that knive us..."

  • SIBILANCE - the sibilance is used to mimic the cold cutting through the men, and thus the pain they feel from it.
  • ASONANCE - slows the sentence down, reflecting the longevity of the men's suffering, their is no escape.
  • PERSONIFICATION - the winds are portrayed as sinister by Owen to build fear within the reader, or portray the danger of nature.
  • ELIPSIS - doesn't give the sentence a full ending, suggesting the never-ending suffering of the soldiers.
• "But nothing happens"

  • REFRAIN - used by Owen to signify the futility of war, or to suggest the agony of the soldiers waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever does.
• "Slowly our ghosts drag home : glimpsing the sunk fires."

  
  

  • FORESHADOWING - the use of ghosts foreshadow the soldiers death, possibly showing how they are all waiting for something bad to happen
  • ASONANCE - makes the journey feel painful and slowly battering them
  • CEASURA - creates a barrier between what the soldiers are imagining (warm home) and the cold suffering of war which they cant leave.
  • IRONY - fire usually a symbol of passion and hope, but the soldiers are sunk, implying their hope and will is lost.
• "Air that shudders black with snow."

  • JUXTAPOSITION - snow is usually a symbol of purity, but the fact that black is in it suggests that the soldiers have been metaphorically corrupted by war.
  • IRONY - usually air is life giving, but having black in it portrays it as some sort of poison. Shows how war effects the most vital parts of human life.
• ".All their eyes are ice,"

  • CEASURA - This, paired with the monosyllabic (one syllable per word) nature of this sentence highlights the blunt brutality of war - their is no way to ease the suffering.
  • SYMBOLISM - Literally, the soldiers eyes are frozen, eyes are usually symbol for the gateway into the soul, thus metaphorically, the soldiers no life left in them.
• Who was Wilfred Owen and what were his views?

  Owen first pursued a role in the church, however he gave up as he felt the church was hypocritical and didn't take care of its dependants. He then became a WW1 solider, but was killed 1 week before armistice day in 1918.
• In what context was 'Exposure' written in?

  Owen wrote this poem while fighting in the trenches in the first world war. Giving this poem a raw and accurate narrative of the reality of war. All war poems at the time glorified war, but Owen sought to dispel "the old lie".
• What is the structure and form of Exposure?

  • RHYME SCHEME - Exposure has a very consistent rhyme scheme, allowing the 5th line to stand out, highlighting its important message. Or, Owen could be displaying the monotony of war.
  • PARARHYMES - by only rhyming the consonants, Owen creates a sense of unease mimicking how the soldiers felt.
  • CYCLICAL - the end of the first and last stanza are "But nothing happens" witch highlights how nothing changes, thus the soldiers are suffering but nothing is changing - futility.
• What is the overall message of Exposure?

  The futility of war and suffering, as nothing ever changes. This intern leads to the psychological suffering of the soldiers, who are always expecting something to happen.