exposure

• depicts the fate of the soldiers perishing from hypothermia
• Owen was a christian so the requirement to kill conflicted with the God's commandment not to kill.
• 'exposure' has multiple meanings - the exposure to weather, to the enemies, or to the incompetent generals. it exposes the harsh reality of war.
• 'our brains ache' is an abrupt opening, the possessive pronoun 'our' shows this is a shared experience with his comrades. the 'brain ache' could refer to head injury, shell shock, or confusion as to why the war is being fought, as they can't find a reason. they are wondering why their commanders are not protecting them from the cold.
• the personification and sibilance in 'merciless iced east winds' conveys the intensity of the biting cold.
• the long lines show how long the men are being exposed to these conditions
• the slant rhyme between 'silent' and 'salient' emphasises the soldier's confusion and inability to think clearly.
• there is double peril - the enemy soldiers and the risk of hypothermia
• 'confuse our memories of the salient' shows how the soldiers forget what was important on the battleground, but could also refer to the soldier's sense of memory.
• the use of ellipses show how long this drags on for.
• the refrain of 'but nothing happens' emphasises the idea that war is futile and that there is no reason for it. the repetition of this line four times shows the focus of this poem and also shows how there is more waiting than fighting. this line is also ironic as they are actually dying.
• the asyndetic list 'worries by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous' emphasises the fear and confusion the soldiers feel.
• 'watching, we hear' shows confusion as there are two senses described as one.
• 'mad gusts' hints at violence and lack of control, and how the soldiers are defenceless against the elements. shows how the main battle is against the weather.
• 'twitching agonies of men' is a very visceral image that shows how the soldiers are trapped in these appalling conditions
• 'incessantly' shows that the suffering is never ending.
• 'flickering gunnery rumbles' is onomatopoeic and mimics the gunfire
• 'like a dull rumour of some other war' shows how the soldiers are detached and numb from their situation, and how the battle with the enemy is less threatening than the weather. also shows how Owen questioned his faith as a result of the suffering.
• 'what are we doing here' is an anticlimactic and disappointing end to the stanza. the rhetorical question addresses the reader and shows the boredom and anxious anticipation that the soldier feels
• 'the poignant misery of dawn' is ironic as dawn is usually positive. shows how the soldiers will die or be forced to face another day.
• 'we only know' shows how they are confused and numb to the reality of the situation
• 'her melancholy army' is a direct comparison between enemy soldiers and personified weather.
• 'shivering ranks of grey' refers to the German soldiers as they wore grey and attacked from the East.
• the sibilance of 'sudden successive flights' shows the sound of the bullets and shows how the soldiers were taken by surprise
• 'streak the silence' shows the contrast between the silence and sudden gunfire. it disrupts the silence leading to their long and torturous deaths.
• 'black with snow' is an oxymoron as snow is white and pure, but now black and evil because of war.
• the 'wind's nonchalance' shows the power of nature, and how the elements are greater than and oblivious to the foolish deeds of the humans. it also suggests the meandering movement of the snow and creates a peaceful image to contrast the suffering of the soldiers.
• the personification of the 'pale flakes with fingering stealth' shows how the weather is just as much of a threat as the soldiers.
• the caesura after 'feeling for our faces' shows a moment of horror and realisation.
• the 'forgotten dreams' shows the soldiers were thinking about what their lives could have been - a version where the 'grass was greener'
• 'drowse' shows how they are half asleep and exhausted but they cannot sleep because of the weather. it is a switch from the present to an idyllic past.
• 'littered with blossoms' juxtaposes springtime with the horrific trench warfare. shows how the soldiers are hallucinating and could symbolise their idea of heaven.
• 'is it that we are dying?' is an abrupt change that snaps the reader out of the the spring daydream and back to harsh conditions. hints at extreme hypothermia that could lead to their deaths.
• 'slowly our ghosts drag home' shows they believe that the only way home is if they die and become ghosts, which is a painful and slow journey.
• 'glimpsing the sunk fires' hints at the light at the end of a tunnel before death and leaving the world, however 'glimpsing' suggests they are seen briefly before coming back to reality.
• the 'crusted dark-red jewels' is vivid imagery that could represent te bloody wounds of the soldiers.
• 'the innocent mice rejoice' suggests that their houses back home are now deserted, but could also symbolise propaganda as the mice are oblivious to the war, and think they have won and are safe.
• 'on us the doors are closed' shows how the men do not expect to survive the war. their families have moved on with their lives and will not be welcomed home, or they have died.
• 'we turn back to our dying' is ironically casual and shows how the soldiers have now given up.
• 'for love of God seems dying' shows God's intention to leave them and they have lost faith. their faith is undermined and no longer trust they can have a happy life.