exposure
- Created by: Safi:)
- Created on: 07-11-19 18:54
View mindmap
- Exposure
- Wilfred Owen
- 1893-1918
- beginning
- "in the merciless iced east winds that knive us."
- PERSONIFICATION- of nature to describe it as menacing and deadly. The real enemy is nature
- SIBILANCE emphasises the harshness and brutality. of the weather.
- "Like twitching agonies of men among its brambles".
- SIMILE- suggests the agony of the men reflected in the wind. The imagery of men struggling with ‘brambles’ gives the reader an idea of how appalling war is.
- They cannot escape the war, and in attempting to do so they become more enmeshed
- "Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army"
- ‘shivering’ is ONOMATOPOEIC, conveying the idea of chattering teeth and trembling bodies.
- could be referring to sunrise, which is IRONIC as dawn usually associated with new life and hope, brings fear/hopelessness.
- "in the merciless iced east winds that knive us."
- structure and form
- first person
- collective suffering of soldiers - encourages soldiers to share their pain
- repetition of "But nothing happens" and capitalisation of 'but'
- emphasises futility of war - constantly waiting in fear
- rhythm (5 line stanzas)
- reflects boredom of soldiers, everlastinf nature of war
- anaphoric reference (line 28, links to line 11)
- snaps the reader out of the daydream about spring to the harsh reality of their condition.
- first person
- middle
- "Attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey"
- METAPHOR - dehumanising soldiers; reducing them to boring colour. War taking away identity.
- "we cringe in holes"
- ANIMAL IMAGERY - they have no privacy are treated like animals. are they starting to lose hope in patriotism
- "Less deathly than the air that shudders black with snow"
- nature is more damaging and deadly than bullets.
- OXYMORON- between 'black' and snow' are unsettling. Highlight the horror of being exposed to those elements
- "Attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey"
- end
- "slowly, our ghosts drag home"
- METAPHOR - war sucked all the life out of soldiers and reminds reader that they are on the brink of death
- "all their eyes are ice"
- METAPHOR - describes extreme effects of weather. Implies soldiers have lost humanity and are very close to their breaking point.
- "slowly, our ghosts drag home"
- context
- he was diagnosed with shellshock
- died right before the war ended.
- was killed attempting to lead his men across the Sambre Canal at Ors
- Owen once declared "my theme is war and the pity of war"
- Wilfred Owen
Comments
No comments have yet been made