Grade 9: Unit 2: War Poetry. Lara Culcu, 9B.

How does Wilfred Owen use language to present his ideas on the conflicts of war in Exposure?

Throughout the poem ‘Exposure’, Wilfred Owen uses language devices and imagery to convey the
theme of conflict, as well as the physical and mental suffering of the soldiers. Notably, the poem
features a ‘four-pronged attack’; the soldiers are faced with not only the enemy soldiers, but also the
weather, their duty to their country, and their own minds.

One of the language devices used is sibilance, and this is immediately demonstrated in the first line of
the poem: “merciless iced east winds”. This sound evokes the sound of the wind blowing around in the
trenches, and since it is a sharp sound, it also shows how harsh the wind is. As well as sibilance,
assonance of the vowel sounds ‘e’ and ‘i’ is also used in the first line to create the same effect and echo
the sound of the wind. The poet uses sibilance later in the poem as well, in the first line of stanza 4:
“sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence”. This time, sibilance is used to evoke the sound
of the bullets rushing through the air and emphasizes the suddenness of the attack.

Another technique used throughout the poem are metaphors; the poet uses several metaphors to
convey the soldiers’ thoughts about the literal object to which the metaphor is being applied. For
example, line 13 compares the bad weather to a “melancholy army”, and the metaphor “shivering ranks
of grey” in line 14 refers to the soldiers. By stating that the bad weather was a “melancholy army”, the
poet shows that the soldiers believe that the weather is as dangerous as their enemies, as it is referred
to as an army. In particular, the usage of the word “melancholy” shows that the weather was dull and
dark, but it also echoes the mental state of the soldiers. The word “shivering” is a direct observation on
the soldiers’ physical state, while referring to them as “ranks of grey” indicates that they are miserable,
as the color “grey” has widespread negative connotations.

Additionally, the entirety of line 29 is a metaphor for the way soldiers are treated when they return from
war. When soldiers return from war, they are rejected and shunned by society; “Shutters and doors, all
closed: on us the doors are closed”. Furthermore, the em-dash at the end of line 29 acts like a barrier
between the soldiers and the civilians, as it separates their dreams of their houses and warm fires from
the phrase “We turn back to our dying”, which brings them back to reality. This metaphor serves to
emphasize the conflict that occurs between civilians and veterans, as the civilians ignore and marginalize
the veterans.

Moving on from metaphors, another literary device used throughout the poem is personification,
especially in the descriptions of the weather and its effects. “winds that knive us” (line 1) is
personification as the wind cannot literally knife the soldiers, and it shows that the strong winds are as
painful as knife wounds to the freezing soldiers. Lines 6 and 7 continue the personification of the wind:
“mad gusts tugging on the wire, like twitching agonies of men”. The simile suggests that the howling
wind reflects the pain the soldiers are going through, and the words “mad gusts” could reflect their
mental state, as the men are also battling with themselves. This links back to the ‘four-pronged attack’
mentioned at the beginning, as well as pathetic fallacy, which will be expanded upon later in this
analysis.

As well as the wind, the dawn is also personified. Line 13 states “Dawn massing in the east her
melancholy army”, which further develops the idea that the men see the weather as their enemy – this
line suggests that the dawn is commanding the rain and snow as if they are her army. As well as
personification, this is also an oxymoron; although dawn usually has positive connotations, this line gives

Ms. H. McGlone.
Grade 9: Unit 2: War Poetry. Lara Culcu, 9B.

it a negative connotation, as it compares the dawn to a military leader commanding an army to attack
the soldiers.

In addition to the dawn and the snow, the men’s opinions of God and their religious faith also change as
they go through so much suffering. Stanza 7 describes their diminishing faith; “For God’s invincible
spring our love is made afraid” shows that while the men once believed that God would protect them,
they are now losing their faith, as despite their love and their trust, they are still suffering – the seasons
spring and winter can also be a metaphor for life. The final line of stanza 7, “for love of God seems
dying”, shows that they are losing their faith and portrays the conflict between the soldiers and God.

As well as the explicit mention of God in stanza 7, there is an implicit reference to the bible through the
usage of intertextuality in line 9 – “Like a dull rumour of some other war” is quoted from the bible, from
the Gospel of Matthew, 24:6, which states “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars.” As this is earlier
on in the poem, we can infer that it shows the poet’s religious beliefs at the start, before he began to
lose his religious faith.

As aforementioned, the whole poem is a prime example of pathetic fallacy. The fierce, downcast
weather is a symbol for the misery of the soldiers, and the agony they are going through. “clouds sag
stormy” (line 12) exemplifies this, as it reflects the downcast spirits of the soldiers. It is also exemplified
in the phrase “melancholy army” (Line 13). While this is a metaphor for the rain and snow, it also echoes
the melancholy state of the soldiers, and the conflict between them and the weather.

As mentioned in the introduction, the poem demonstrates a four-pronged attack; the soldiers are facing
two physical dangers, and two mental. Firstly, the soldiers are facing the enemy soldiers. Although this
isn’t the primary focus of the poem, the enemy soldiers are mentioned in the phrases “the flickering
gunnery rumbles” (line 8) and “sudden successive flights of bullets streak the silence” (line 16), as the
shots were presumably fired by enemy soldiers, as well as their own comrades in the other location. The
soldiers are also facing the dangerous weather and the risk of hypothermia, which is displayed
throughout the whole poem in descriptions like “merciless iced east winds” (line 1) and “rain soaks, and
clouds sag stormy” (line 12).

Aside from these physical dangers, the soldiers are also faced by duty – they cannot run away from the
war and must remain in the trenches, because of their duty to their country. At the time the poem was
written, soldiers were expected to follow orders exactly and had to do so even if it meant they would die
painfully. As well as their duty to their country, the soldiers couldn’t abandon their comrades because of
the bonds they would have forged during their collective war experience, which is demonstrated
through the poet’s usage of the pronouns “we”, “us”, and “our” throughout the poem.

Lastly, the soldiers are attacked by their own minds. As they spent most of their times waiting in the
trenches, they had a lot of empty time to think of their homes, their families, and as they can hear the
“flickering gunnery” in the distance, they might also be thinking of the pain their comrades are going
through. This would lower their morale severely, which is shown in the first line of stanza 6 – “sunk
fires” literally means that the fires back home are dying without the men to tend to them, but it could
also be a symbol for the soldier’s fading morale. Also, the men would have been suffering from PTSD
(Post-traumatic stress disorder), which was referred to as ‘shell shock’ and widely dismissed as
cowardice by society, which would have sent them into extreme emotional distress.

Ms. H. McGlone.
Grade 9: Unit 2: War Poetry. Lara Culcu, 9B.

Finally, the context the poem was written in must be considered. Wilfred Owen enlisted in the war and
served on the Western Front, between 1915 and 1917, before re-enlisting in 1918. Because of this, he
had first-hand knowledge of war and so wrote many poems to raise awareness of what soldiers actually
went through, as many other poets at the time wrote propaganda poems that glorified war to convince
men to enlist in the war – for example, his 1917 poem ‘Disabled’ was written about the experience of a
soldier who had returned from war, but was shunned and pitied by society, while ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’
was written about a gas attack and intended to show how horrifying war really was.

‘Exposure’ in particular was written to show a different side of war; while most poets of the time spoke
of the action, ‘Exposure’ shows that most of the soldiers’ time in the trenches was spent waiting and
discusses the terrible weather conditions that soldiers were forced to survive in. With this in mind, we
can infer that this poem sub-textually criticizes the generals that gave the soldiers orders blindly and
didn’t do anything to prevent their deaths, as the condemnation of war was a message that was often
prevalent in Owen’s works.

In conclusion, the poem ‘Exposure’ skillfully uses language devices including but not limited to
personification, metaphors, and assonance to describe the experience soldiers waiting in trenches went
through, as well as the theme of conflict overall.

Ms. H. McGlone.