E XPOSURE

Wilfred Owen

Context
 Wilfred Owen
Born 1893

o Joined British army 1915 Summary:
o Died in battle 1918 Context – soldier in WW1 – suffered
 Originally pursued a career in the church shellshock – met Sassoon in hospital –
o Felt it was hypocritical – failed in its duty to care for its dependants told to use poetry to record experience –
 Big fan of John Keats and Siegfried Sassoon “my theme is war and the pity of war”
o Influenced a lot by their poetry Form – consistent ABBAC rhyme scheme
o E.g. Sassoon’s satire in Dulce et decorum est – 5th anticlimax – pararhymes
 Suffered from shellshock – spent time in hospital Structure – cyclical structure –
o Met Sassoon in hospital – acted as a mentor epistrophe/anaphora – caesura (separate
o Advised by therapist to write about his experiences through his poetry – home/war) – ellipses (waiting) -
form of therapy Language – allude to John Keats’ Ode to
o Thus his poems serve as a way of expressing the true horror of war a Nightingale (brain not heart – not
 Rather than keeping it internalised and suffering the consequences romantic but realistic)– religious
 Written in 1917 references (ambiguous – for god or lose
o Fighting in trenches in WW1 faith) – sibilance (weapons)
o Owen then won the military cross for bravery Nature – nature as aggressor -
o Killed in battle in 1918 personification
o Authenticity – written by an actual soldier Key Idea – Owen has suffered in war, so
 Writing about the reality of war as he experiences it he presents the reality of warfare and
 Uses nature as an enemy of soldiers in a lot of his poems exposes its true horror, but also that it is
 Also reliant on assonance and pararhymes in most of his work not as expected – not glorious action but
o Part of his style undignified waiting where the real enemy
 War poetry - Very new form of war poetry is nature and time rather than the
 Went against British attitude to war opposing army
 Hadn’t had a major war in > 100 years
 Gained mythical status – honourable and romanticised
o Most past war poems were focused on the honour of war
o Owens criticised war and presented its horrific reality
 Dispel myth of war – “the old lie” – expose reality of war
 Owen – “my theme is war and the pity of war”
 Resented the tragedy of war the suffering, the mistakes of leaders and the death
o BUT he still felt a great sense of duty – enlisted
o Dulce et decorum est – it is honourable to die in battle
 Referred to it as “the old lie”
 Title - very ambiguous in its literal and figurative meanings
 Literal – they are exposed to the enemy fire and exposed to the elements as they wait in trenches
 Figurative – Owens is exposing war – exposing its reality and dispelling the myth of its honour and glory
o The truth: soldiers are bored, cold, tired, suffering, forgotten

Synopsis
 Waiting in a trench
 Scared to rest because they could be attacked at anytime
 Nothing happens
 Watch the nature and the trenches – all seem to show signs of suffering
 Can hear fighting in the background
 Dawn seems to bring more misery and suffering
 The snow and nature is like an aggressor – more threat than enemy soldiers
 Snowing then transition to signs of spring – passing of time

Form
 Consistent ABBAC rhyme scheme
 The consistency of the rhyme scheme means that when it Is broke, the fifth line stands out
 “what are we doing
o Emphasise its message
here?"
o Cane be seen as linked – Q+A
“is it that we are
 “what are we doing here” “is it that we are dying?”
dying?”
 Consistency shows monotony of war
o Each day is the same – nothing happens – situation the same
o Futility of war
 Stanza starts with powerful, emotional sentence
o Body is rich in imagery and emotional
o Seems to be building up tension
o Anticlimax of fifth line – simple and basic
 Mirrors the constant tension and alertness of the soldiers
o Always mentally building up to the battle – on edge and nervous – full alert
o Yet nothing ever happens – their experience each day is an anticlimax and a cyclical experience
 Same day after day - "dawn "attacks once more" – each new day is repetitive and the same as the last
 More attacks by the elements – war of attrition
 (this is established by the consistency) – show lack of change
o War is repetitive and futile – each day is the same and ends with the situation the same > “Iced east winds
nothing achieved that knife us”
 Pararhymes "curious, nervous"
 such as between “winds that knife us” and “curious, nervous”
 Creates an underlying atmosphere of unease – uneasy tone
o by only rhyming the consonants Hughes leaves the reader unsatisfied and confused, uneasy like the soldiers.
o Expecting a rhyme – never comes / only partially satisfied
o Mirror anticipation and let down of soldiers
 This discomfort comes from the “nervous” awaiting of battle whilst constantly being worn down by nature, and its
“winds that knife us”.
 Leave reader on edge – anticipating a rhyme
o Soldiers are on edge anticipating a battle
 Neither comes – both denied
 Only just keep the poem ordered
o Limited order and structure provided
o The poem is only just kept together, just like the soldiers are only just coping
 Only partially kept together
o Despite the lack of battle they are suffering
“but nothing
Structure happens"
 Cyclical structure
 Last line of the first and last stanza is “but nothing happens”
 Connects the end to the beginning to emphasizes that nothing has happened
o Presenting the futility of war (which is actually the title of another one of his poems – futility)
o They haven’t achieved anything – nothing has changed
 Yet many soldiers have suffered and even died
 What was the point – “what are we doing here”
 Anaphora
 Repetition of “but nothing happens”
o Emphasizes the futility of war
o The situation remains the same despite their suffering > they aren’t achieving anything so “what are we doing here”
o Owens wasn’t objecting to war itself – recognized its importance and his sense of duty – but against unnecessary
wars and poor leadership
 What is the point in them suffering if it doesn’t achieve anything? They are dying for
nothing
 Caesura
“wearied we keep
 Used to separate home from trenches (4 times) awake because
o “slowly our ghosts drag home: glimpsing the sunk fires” the night is silent"
 They are imaging their homes – imagine the warmth whilst they freeze
 Home is separate from them – they cannot return (doors shut – expected to stay and fight – honour)
 Ellipses
 First three lines end in ellipses
 Emphasizing the waiting and boredom of the soldiers
o Slows the pace to force reader to experience the same boredom and frustration
o Time passes slowly because they are bored and waiting – suffering stretched out
 o Making the reader wait as they have to
 Also shows they are weary – “wearied we keep awake”
o Having to stay alert despite extreme fatigue
o Ellipse could show them losing their attention/concentration because they are so tired
 Can’t concentrate because of tiredness, can’t sleep because of fear> “because the night is silent”

Opening
 Allusion to John Keats (Ode to a Nightingale)
 Opens with “our brains ache in the merciless iced winds” “Our brains ache in
o closely resembles the opening – “my heart aches” of “Ode to a nightingale” by John
the merciless iced
Keats
east winds”
 Keats was a poet that Owens was openly inspired by.
 This allusion is significant because Owens, as a romantic poet, presented the beauty of
nature
o Owens suggest this is the perspective of the “heart”
o He presents the reality of nature as a vicious force within war which is the logical perspective of the soldiers’
“brains”.
 Also presents two types of suffering
o Brain – could be literal ache from the cold – the physical suffering they endure due to their awful conditions and
exposure to elements
o Mind – the psychological pain from war and suffering – due to their witnessing of atrocities – seeing “half-known
faces” die
 Owens is likely referring to psychological pain – he suffered from shellshock
 Also the psychological toil of waiting and anticipating – never feel safe – always on edge – “we stay awake”

Language
 Religious references / ambiguity
Fighting out of a sense of moral duty to protect the innocent
 “For love of god
o Many readers would have been Christian seems dying”
 Associate Christianity with morals
 “for love of God seems dying”.
o presents the soldiers as selflessly carrying out their moral (and thus Christian) duty to protect the innocent people
at home by fighting to defend them
 they are doing it for the “love of God”.
o Can be tied to the suffering of Jesus (passions) – died to save humanity
 Soldiers need to show agape love for others through their own sacrifice
 They are accepting o their death – “we turn back to our dying” – as if they accept it as a necessary sacrifice
 Can also be interpreted as them losing their love for God
o Their faith in his protection and care for them is “dying” because they cannot correlate the theory of a benevolent
God with the reality of conflict.
o Owens had pursued church career – felt church was hypocritical
 Allowed suffering to occur – didn’t do enough
 Perhaps he is confronting the problem o suffering – challenge to benevolent loving “for god’s invisible
god posed by suffering spring our love is
 War proves as evidence for a lack of a god made afraid”
 “for god’s invincible spring our love is made afraid”
o They no longer feel that they can rely on spring following winter
 Cannot rely on good coming out of evil because they have sent eh innate evil of mankind in war
 Ties in with the merging of seasons
o “snow-dazed” / “sun-dosed”
o Showing the struggle of nature to emerge from winter into spring
o Nature may not return to its role of beauty and nurturer – they can’t count on it
o A duty to ensure that the metaphorical winter of war is broken
 Bring goodness back to the world – a spring – by protecting the innocent
o The references to spring also connect it back to John Keats "Ode to a nightingale"
“Sudden successive
 Nature may be beautiful in spring, but the soldiers have to endure winter too which is
deadly flights of bullets
 Showing how the beauty of nature is easily overshadowed by how deadly it is streak the silence”
 Sibilance
 Present nature as the enemy
 o The snow - "sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence"
 Sibilance mirrors the sound of gunfire
 Imply that the snow is the real threat – guns are "less deadly" – snow as natures weapon attacking them
 Fast and slice through the air – sharp
o Break the silence – this is what they were waiting for – the battle they await is not with humans but with nature
 This is not the “dull rumour of some other war” it is an acute threat
 Bullets that can cause them damage – immediate threat
 Connotations of a serpent creates sinister atmosphere “Dawn massing in the
o Nature as a sinister and malicious force east her melancholy
 Helped by personification – can view nature as an entity with evil intent army"

Nature
 Personification
 using nature as a symbolic antagonist allows him to imply that nature is an even bigger threat than the actual enemy.
 “dawn massing in the east her melancholy army”
o caring, nurturing role traditionally associated with a female nature figure is juxtaposed with the aggressive
connotations of an army.
o The reality of war is that it is so horrific even the beauty of nature, the beauty of a new dawn and new day, is
corrupted into a source of suffering.
 With the new day will come yet more “poignant misery” from enduring nature.
“Flowing flakes
o War corrupts nature
that flock, pause
 Nature as an enemy / aggressor
 Present nature as the enemy
and renew "
o The snow - "sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence"
 Sibilance mirrors the sound of gunfire
 Imply that the snow is the real threat – guns are "less deadly" – snow as natures weapon attacking them
 Fast and slice through the air – sharp
o Break the silence – this is what they were waiting for – the battle they await is not with humans but with nature
 This is not the “dull rumour of some other war” it is an acute threat
 Bullets that can cause them damage – immediate threat
o Metaphor comparing snow to a weapon
 "flowing flakes that flock, pause and renew"
o Connotations of a weapon and firearm
o Pause and renew – persistent and never ending – constant attrition
“Less deadly than
 The repetition of soft fricatives remind the reader of the beauty and delicacy of snow
the air that
o Contrasted to the harsh threat posed by its attacks
o Beautiful but deadly shudders black with
 Also a sense of it being a rhythmic and calculated attack – pause and renew snow"
o The actual battle is "less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow"
 Negative connotations of black – danger and death
 Shudders – suggest illness – the air is ill with all the destructive force invested in it
 The war with nature is acute and happening constantly – the battle is just something they are waiting for
 Irony of soldiers going away to fight nature not soldiers
o Makes war seem futile and pointless
 The actual battle seems insignificant by comparison
o “gunnery rumbles” “like a dull rumour of some other war”
“like a dull
 Nature is an acute and immediate threat – the threat is real
rumour of some
 The actual battle never seems to come – nothing happens
other war"
 Fighting their own personal battles for survival against nature and the
elements they are “exposed to”
o Also a religious reference – bible tells of "wars and rumours of wars" before the end of the world
 Suggest that to the soldiers this feels like the end

Reality of war / Experience of Soldiers

 The boredom of war
 Presents the huge expanse of time spent waiting
o Seems to summarise large period of time
o Goes from “snow-dazed” to “sun-dosed” with “blossoms” and “blackbird fusses”
o Show passing of seasons – they are in the trenches for a long time just waiting
 Or – show delusional – imagining spring – hot and cold > hypothermia
 o “is it that we are dying” – last delusions as they die
o Dreaming of natures beauty whilst they suffer its danger and cruelty
 Repetition of “but nothing happens” – monotony of war
o They are bored, waiting for a battle that never comes
o Simultaneously dreading and fearing as well as waiting and anticipating
 Soldiers are forgotten
 Forgotten by those they fight for
o “On us the doors are closed”
 Those at home carry on with life as normal – safe
“on us the doors
 Forget about the millions of soldiers dying for them are closed"
o Soldiers are expected to stay and fight
 To return home would be impossible – dishonour them
 They have no choice about fighting
 To leave would be cowardice – many shot because of desertion
o They cannot go home – doors are closed
 Forced to continue enduring the suffering and pain
 Become insignificant
o “this frost will fasten on this mud and us”
 No distinction made between soldier and mud
“this frost will fasten
 They are not important – insignificant on this mud and us"
o This reflects the attitude of leaders too
 Forgotten about the soldiers – they are left to be buried by the snow
 Serve only as cannon fodder – just soldiers guarding a trench
o This is not a hero’s death at all!
o Dehumanised – they are no longer individuals – just part of nature
 End with them being defeated by nature
 Suffering of soldiers
 Suffering is presented symbolically in how Owens describes the environment
o “mad gusts tugging on the wire like twitching agonies” “brambles” of the wire
 Their suffering isn’t visible- it is the slow attrition of nature rather than outward death and injury
 Just as great – hence seeing suffering all around them – created visible signs of their internal, invisible suffering
o Semantic field of suffering – agonies, twitching, brambles, misery, melancholy
 Fear of soldiers
 They are unable to rest because they are always on edge and afraid
o “wearied, we stay awake because the night is silent”
 Scared to go to sleep because, even though “nothing happens”, something could happen
 The second they lapse in their attention will be the moment the “dull rumour of some other war” becomes close
and an immediate threat
 However – also show that they have lost their ability to fear
o “Is it that we are dying” “is it that we
o Seem accepting and complicit with their death
are dying?
 Would be an act of kindness –s pare them from the suffering of their lives
 Life is worse than death”
 Also afraid of what would happen if they didn’t fight
o “Not otherwise can kind fires burn” “suns smile true on child”
o Only way to protect the innocent at home is to fight
 Sense of duty
 !despite his criticisms of war, Owens did feel a sense of duty – he enlisted (volunteered) and won a military
cross for his bravery and service – necessary evil, but evil none the less > shouldn’t be glorified
o His objection is to unnecessary war and unnecessary suffering
o They are suffering but not even taking part in the war – seems
pointless
 War is futile “since we believe not
 Link to cyclical structure otherwise can kind
 “what are we doing here” – pointless fires burn;"
 Nothing happening so why do soldiers need to be there suffering
 Reality of war hidden by sense of duty
 sense of duty the soldiers felt to protect those at home.
o reports the soldier’s belief that “not otherwise can kind fires burn”
 implying that they view their role in war as protecting those at home
 o Sacrificing themselves so that others can enjoy the warmth of a hearth inside instead of the “frost “ that “will
fasten” on them.
o There statements on the purpose of war are end-stopped
 Gives the statements clarity and certainty – they are confident in the importance of their duty
 This correlates with the contemporary attitude to the first world war, as many people saw it as a chance to gain honour
and prove their patriotism by fighting for the country – nationalism was a long term factor that led to the war.
 However, Owens presents this glorification of war as unfounded by contrasting the “kind fires” they provide for others
with the fact that “on us the doors are closed”.
o He is presenting the soldier’s sense of being forgotten.
o As they sit in trenches, they do not experience fame or glory but coldness and the harsh reality of conflict.
 Also sense of religious duty – see "for love of god is dying" analysis

Comparisons
 Bayonet charge – soldiers / reality of war#
Patriotism / duty disguises true nature of war – motivation for fighting

Both present soldiers as unprepared

Unconventional perspective of who’s involved in war

o nature
 Physical vs. psychological (and physical)
 Charge of the Light Brigade – attitude to war
 CotLB depicts bravery and heroism – glorify war and patriotism
o Exposure depicts reality of war – not glory and fighting but waiting for death and being subject to the mercy of
nature – not the enemy but nature attacking you
 CotLB – subtle criticism of leaders’ decisions
o Exposure – heavily critical – “why are we here” – disillusioned with war
 Both use imagery and metaphors
o Exposure – similes, personification, metaphors, sensory imagery
 “dawn massing in the east her melancholy army”
o CotLB – metaphors, religious imagery, sensory
 Waiting vs. action
 Both use repetition
o Tennyson to quicken pace and create rhythm, Owen to show relentless and repetitive waiting
 Tennyson commissioned as poet laureate – had a purpose and his work was restricted to what the government wanted
war to be viewed as (propaganda)
o Owen was writing on the frontline – exposing what war is really like – going against propaganda
 The Prelude – Power of Nature
 Nature powerful for different reasons
o Nature as powerful due to its expanse and size
 Force him to redefine limits of his world Comparison Summary
o Nature as powerful through its aggression and violence
 Constant attack of attrition Attitude to war – COTLB
 Nature described in military terms Reality of war – Bayonet
 Inescapable power Charge / Storm on the
 Nature changes their perspective of the world Island
o Prelude – realise their insignificance and the true size of the world Power of Nature - The
o Exposure - Prelude
 Storm on the Island – Power of Nature
 Shows nature as aggressive
o Constant barrage of attack and attrition
 Inescapable attack and inescapable power
o Cyclical structure in SOTI – always starts confident and ends up fearful – cyclical = can’t escape
o Constantly reminded that “nothing happened” – motif/refrain – always waiting for war and being worn down by
nature – can’t escape the suffering nature subjects them to
 Nature is more powerful than humanity
o Nature is a bigger threat – “less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow”
o SOTI – structural – start confident at the beginning – fearful "it is a huge nothing we fear" by the end