bayonet charge vs exposure comparison

Themes: patriotism, on the front line, conflict, reality of war, nature 

Tones: dreamy, bewildered & haunting 

Both poems portray war as alien & dehumanising in order to protest against it 

Exposure language

• The gusts of wind are personified as mad- “tugging on the wire”, >> the wind is also a human in its indifference, its ‘nonchalance’ in the face of suffering. Semantic field of weather = weather is the enemy

• “The merciless iced east winds that knife us..”- personification (cruel & murderous wind); Sibilance (cutting/slicing sound of wind);Elipses (never-ending)

• Repetition of pronouns “we” & “our” >> togetherness/collective suffering of soldiers 

• “Our brains ache”- physical, cold, suffering & mental suffering (PTSD)

• Context: 

• Despite >> the trade by of war & mistakes of senior commanders, he had a deep sense of duty: “not loath, we lie out here” >> that he was not bitter ab his suffering

• Poem was written before Owen went to win the military cross for bravery & was then killed in battle (poem has authenticity as it’s written by an actual soldier) 

• To show that the British /public are unprepared for the reality of war & soldiers are dying needlessly

Bayonet charge structure

• begins in media res (we are plunged into action >> the soldier is thrown into action)

• Irregular stanzas (1st & 3rd are full of action. The 2nd slows down)

• Free verse >> lack of order in emotional charge of soldier

• Enjambment/caesura further >> the contrast between his movement/fear

• Caesura causes a sense of conflict/confusion, breaks up the flow & gives sense of halting breathing 

• Longer line lengths >> him rushing towards enemy whereas the shorter lines >> his hesitation/contemplation of his…