mametz wood

• context: one of the bloodiest battles of WW1. soldiers of the Welsh division were ordered to take Mametz Wood, the largest area of trees on the battlefield.
• structure: regular three-line stanzas almost reflecting the neat linear pattern of a ploughed field. first stanza focuses on the land itself before the focus shifts to the bones and dead bodies in the last stanza
• "for years afterwards" - opening line emphasises how deadly the battle was as they found the remains for 'years afterwards'
• "absent tongues" - haunting tone. 'absent' suggests the men's voices were lost in battle - they were silenced by their generals and then the machine guns.