exposure
context
owen originally pursued a career in the church but felt it was hypocritical as it did not care for its dependants. he became a soldier and was killed in battle a week before armistice in 1918
inspired by keats and sassoon - sassoon later acted as mentor towards owen whilst he suffered with shellshocked In hospital - therapist advised owen to write about his experiences rather than internalising them
was written in 1917 when owen was fighting in trenches - authentic
in contemporary britain, war was severely romanticised - reflected by other war poetry at the time which focused on the honour of war in comparison
opening
"our brains ache int he merciless iced east winds that knife us" - resembles opening of keates' poem "ode to a nightingale", showing keates' influence on him
by opening poem with "brains", he immediately establishes the psychological damage of war
could be interpreted in several ways - physical brain and literal ache from cold vs psychological pain
form
consistency of rhyme scheme allows fifth line to stand out
emphasises monotony of war
"watching, we hear the mad gusts tugging on the wire"
irony that nature is attacking men as opposed to the enemy
assonance of i's and mimics exposure and slows down lines
"watching" - sensory imagery, soldiers are on high alert
"tugging" juxtaposes "watching" as it shows the soldiers' strength
makes them seem helpless/passive
personified as "mad" - nature is relentless and unpredictable
"w" alliteration - quivering or sobbing, cements misery
"w" symbolises question words - confused state and disorientation because of poor conditions
caesura - symbolises physical and emotional decline
"flickering gunnery rumbles"
omamatopoeia of "rumbles"
synasthesia of "flickering gunnery" (mixing of senses)
"dull rumour of some other war"
religious imagery - biblical reference to the end of the world
links with biblical quote "you will hear of wars and rumours of wars"
may do this as soldiers could believe their life will end with war
"we only know war lasts, rain soaks, and clouds sag stormy"
rule of three - monotonous and repetitive
pathetic fallacy
sibilance adds sinister tone making war seem threatening, and recreates silence
"sag" impression of heaviness- soldiers carrying burden and tiredness
inclusive "we"