Structure

• The poem’s structure is in regular three-line stanzas almost reflecting the neat linear pattern of a ploughed field. However, at times the length of the lines change, with longer lines breaking up the neat form. This disrupted pattern could reflect the ‘chits of bone' rising out of the ground and disrupting our attempts to forget the past.
• The first part of the poem focuses on the land itself before the focus shifts to the bones and dead soldiers in the final stanzas. The concluding stanza brings all the elements together