2. Context
WWI was predicted a relatively quick, harmless end, like many other similar
wars of the time. However, after trenches were dug, opposing sides were
locked into a brutal stalemate.
By the winter of 1917 both sides had suffered harrowing numbers of
casualties and the extreme cold weather made it even worse, with conditions
such as hypothermia becoming commonplace.
Owen himself was once forced to lie outside in the cold for two solid days,
alongside his comrades. It was against this background Exposure was
written.
Owen liked to spend his time in the battlefields writing many poems in order
to inform the British public about what life was really like on the front line,
contradicting British propaganda and press which glorified the war.
Owen is regarded as one of Britain’s greatest war poets, alongside the likes
of Siegfried Sasoon, who spotted Owen’s talent whilst they were in hospital
together and encouraged him to continue writing.
3. Key Themes
WAR- Owen once stated all of his writing is about ‘war and the
pity of war’. This specific poem looks at how death claimed the
lives of too many soldiers. War is constantly referenced
throughout the poem, for example the phrase ‘we only know war
lasts’ has obvious links to war and shows how it is something that
will persist.
WEATHER- The terrible conditions the soldiers survived in are
described as being more dangerous than the enemy. It seems the
soldiers are more concerned about the cold temperatures and
‘winds that knife’ them. Other things which we see as far more
dangerous like ‘bullets’ are less of a concern and are passed off as
normal.
DESPAIR-Another casualty of war is a soldiers complete loss of
faith in what the point of their involvement in war is, and why they
should bother being there. Death seems to be inevitable.
4. Structure
Eight stanzas- 5 lines in each.
- The last line of each stanza is shorter and indented, emphasising its significance.
These lines also disrupt the rhythmic structure further standing out. Most of these lines are
either rhetorical questions, or a repetition of the phrase ‘But nothing happens’. These both
evoke the apparent pointlessness of what is going on.
The other four lines of the stanzas follow the regular rhyme scheme abba. This helps to
portray the unchanging nature of daily life in the trenches, however if you look closer
the rhyme is not fully perfect, e.g. ‘knive us/nervous’. This is known as half rhyme. This
unsettles the reader and defy the expected outcome, which echoes the irregularity and
unexpectedness of war.
5. Language
Owen uses sophisticated vocabulary throughout, contrasting
the brutalities of war.
An example of this sophisticated style cam be seen in
Owen’s use of alliteration and assonance.
For example, in the fourth stanza, the repeated ‘s’ sounds give
the impression of bullets flying past the soldiers but as the lines
go on the ‘s’ sounds fade away, just as a storm of bullets would
do too.
An example of assonance is located in the third stanza, where
the long ‘o’ sound in words such as ‘soak’, ’know’ and ‘grow’
emphasise the tedious wait for action in the battlefield. This is
also seen in he sixth stanza.
