“The burying-party, picks and shovels in their ..."

• Imagery of Death and Burial

  • The “burying-party” evokes a solemn image of soldiers performing burial duties, likely for their fallen comrades. This phrase reinforces the inevitability of death in war, where soldiers not only fight but must also witness and bury their fellow men.
  • The mention of “picks and shovels” suggests both physical exhaustion and the men’s grim duty, emphasizing the unrelenting nature of their suffering. The "shaking grasp" may indicate the effects of cold, fatigue, or even emotional trauma.
• Symbolism of “Half-Known Faces”

  • “Half-known faces” suggests that the soldiers are burying comrades they barely knew, highlighting the impersonal and transient nature of relationships in war. It reflects the idea that soldiers often fought and died alongside strangers, reinforcing the dehumanization and isolation experienced on the battlefield.
  • Alternatively, “half-known” could imply that the dead soldiers’ faces are unrecognizable due to injuries, frostbite, or decomposition, making death all the more disturbing and alienating.
• Metaphor & Cold Imagery – “All their eyes are ice”

  • This metaphor powerfully conveys emotional detachment and numbness. The soldiers have become so accustomed to suffering and death that they no longer display emotion. Their “eyes” being “ice” suggests a loss of humanity, emphasizing the desensitization caused by prolonged exposure to war.
  • Additionally, the imagery of ice links to the poem’s recurring motif of extreme cold. The weather itself is as much of a killer as the enemy, reinforcing the poem’s central idea that nature is as cruel as warfare.
• Repetition – “But nothing happens.”

  • This line is repeated throughout the poem, reinforcing the sense of futility, stagnation, and hopelessness.
  • Despite the horror of war, there is no resolution, no progress, no glory—just endless suffering and death. This challenges the romanticized notions of war that were often used in propaganda.
  • The phrase also reflects the soldiers' mental paralysis; they are trapped in an unending cycle of suffering, where death becomes so common that it no longer shocks or stirs action.
• Critique of War & Futility

  • The banality of death is central to these lines. Soldiers are not dying in heroic battles but are instead perishing slowly due to the elements, malnutrition, and exhaustion.
  • The burying-party symbolizes how the soldiers’ primary role is not just fighting but also managing the grim realities of war—war is more about suffering than action.
  • The repetition of “But nothing happens” strips war of its supposed heroism and meaning, reinforcing the futility and stagnation of life in the trenches.
• Emotional & Psychological Numbness

  • “All their eyes are ice” suggests that the soldiers are no longer capable of feeling grief or sorrow. They have witnessed so much death that they have become emotionally frozen, just as they are physically frozen in the harsh winter conditions.
  • This could also symbolize death-in-life—though these soldiers are still alive, they are spiritually and mentally dead, existing in a state of emptiness and exhaustion.
• Nature as an Antagonist

  • Throughout Exposure, Owen presents nature as a merciless force, often more dangerous than the enemy. Here, the cold has literally and metaphorically drained all warmth from the soldiers, making survival feel impossible.
  • The icy imagery reinforces the idea that war does not always involve direct combat; suffering comes in many forms, and nature itself is an enemy.
• Religious Undertones & Lack of Salvation

  • The burying-party could be seen as a twisted version of a religious burial rite, yet there is no mention of God or comfort—only cold, silence, and emptiness.
  • Unlike traditional Christian burials, where prayers offer the deceased a passage to heaven, these soldiers die unceremoniously in the freezing mud, abandoned by faith and humanity.
  • The final line, "But nothing happens," suggests that there is no redemption, no divine intervention, and no purpose to their suffering.