EXPOSURE

Exposure - Context

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

Written in 1917 before Owen went on to win the Military Cross for bravery, and was then killed in battle in 1918: the poem has authenticity as it is written by an actual soldier.

Owen was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare stood in contrast to the public perception of war at the time.

Of his work, Owen said: "My theme is war and the pity of war".

Exposure - Analysis

in the merciless iced east winds that knive us...

The poem suggest that the weather and the condiitons in the trenches are as much a threat as the enemy. It begins with personificaiton of the wind that attachks the soldiers as if in a bayonet charge.

What are we doing here? ... But nothing happens.

The refrain asks the question that many of Owen's comrades may have asked in private. The implied answer (see the end of the poem) is that they are there to die.

Slowly our ghosts drag home...

As with some of the other poems in the collection there is a clear contrast between the horrific conditions of war and the comfort and safety of home. Owen focuses on the 'dark red jewels' in teh hearth to contrast with the freezing conditions the men endure.