exposure

• Who is the author of the poem "Exposure"?

  Wilfred Owen
• What experience does the speaker describe in "Exposure"?

  The terrifying experience of a night in trenches
• What does the poem "Exposure" show about soldiers?

  The trauma experienced by soldiers in trenches
• What is the main setting of the poem "Exposure"?

  • Soldiers waiting in a trench
  • Fear of being attacked
  • Nature and trenches showing suffering
• What do the soldiers hear in the background?

  Fighting
• What does dawn bring according to the poem?

  More misery and suffering
• What does the cold represent in "Exposure"?

  More of a threat than enemy soldiers
• How is the passage of time marked in the poem?

  By snow transitioning into signs of spring
• When was "Exposure" written?

  1917
• What was Wilfred Owen's original career aspiration?

  To pursue a career in the church
• Why did Owen leave the church?

  He felt it was hypocritical
• How did Wilfred Owen die?

  Killed in battle
• Who influenced Owen's writing?

  John Keats and Siegfried Sassoon
• What did Sassoon do for Owen?

  Acted as a mentor
• What did Owen's therapist advise him to do?

  To write about his experiences
• How does Owen's poetry differ from other war poetry of his time?

  It exposes the horrific reality of war
• What does Owen mean by "the old lie"?

  The romanticized view of war
• How is nature portrayed in "Exposure"?

  • Personified in a sinister way
  • Creates fear in the listener
  • Shows signs of suffering
• What literary device creates a rushed, panicked pace in the poem?

  Asyndetic listing
• What does the rhetorical question in the poem imply?

  The speaker questions his motivation to fight
• What does the religious reference in the poem imply?

  Lack of religiously imposed morality
• What phrase describes the soldiers' physical suffering from the cold?

  Merciless iced east winds that knive us
• What does the phrase "wearied we keep awake" suggest?

  Soldiers are exhausted but alert
• What does "low, drooping flares confuse our memory" imply?

  Disorientation and confusion among soldiers
• What does the phrase "but nothing happens" emphasize?

  The futility of war
• What do the "mad gusts tugging on the wire" symbolize?

  The chaotic nature of war
• What does the phrase "the flickering gunnery rumbles" suggest?

  Ongoing distant fighting
• What does the "poignant misery of dawn" refer to?

  The sadness that comes with a new day
• What does the phrase "we only know war lasts" imply?

  Endurance of suffering without change
• What does "dawn massing in the east" symbolize?

  The relentless arrival of suffering
• What does the phrase "sudden successive flights of bullets" describe?

  Unexpected gunfire
• How does the air compare to the snow in the poem?

  Less deadly than the shuddering air
• What do the "pale flakes" represent in the poem?

  The cold and harsh environment
• What does the phrase "we cringe in holes" suggest?

  Fear and vulnerability of soldiers
• What does "slowly our ghosts drag home" imply?

  Soldiers feel disconnected from home
• What do "innocent mice rejoice" symbolize?

  The normalcy of life away from war
• What does "shutters and doors, all closed" imply?

  Isolation from home and safety
• What does "we turn back to our dying" suggest?

  Acceptance of their grim reality
• What does "for love of God seems dying" imply?

  Loss of faith and hope
• What does "tonight, His frost will fasten" suggest?

  Imminent suffering from the cold