Key Quotations and Analysis in War Poetry

Introduction

• Focus on 5 key quotations to efficiently revise poems for exams.
• Use the 'phosphate' method:
  • Form
  • Opening
  • Language Features
  • Structure
  • Ending
• Wilfred Owen's work highlighted due to its depth and richness.

Opening: "Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us..."

• Irony & Nature's Role:

  • Nature as an aggressor; the wind "knives" the soldiers.
  • Suggests nature's punishment for mankind's barbarism.
  • Assonance: Slows rhythm, mirrors the prolonged exposure of soldiers.
  • Line Length: Extended lines mimic extended exposure.

• Subversion of Expectations:

  • Silent night seen as threatening.
  • Alliteration: "We...we wake" conveys the struggle to stay awake, emphasizing the slow passage of time.

Language Features

• Personification: "Dawn massing in the east her melancholy army"

  • Weather as an army, more threatening than the enemy's.
  • Pathetic Fallacy: Weather's melancholy mirrors soldiers' emotional state.
  • Assonance: Suggests unending attack.

• Imagery of Escape:

  • Soldiers' mental escape through memories distorted by current harsh conditions.
  • Word Association: Snow as "blossoms", "wind" as irritating as "blackbird".
  • Contrast: Images of summer vs. current suffering.
  • Sibilance: Seductive sounds emphasize fatal attraction of sleep.

Structure and Themes

• Questions of Reality and Sanity: "Is it that we are dying?"

  • Brain's deterioration due to harsh conditions, illusions vs. reality.

• Patriotism and Sacrifice:

  • "For love of God seems dying"
  • Questions the validity of the war's justification.
  • Dual meanings in "lie"; self-deception about war's worthiness.

Ending and Repeated Themes

• "But nothing happens": Refrain indicating stagnation and futility.

  • Possible preference for battle over static suffering.
  • Political call for resolution or end to war.

• Metaphors of Identity Loss:

  • "Eyes are iced" represents emotional desensitization.
  • Soldiers' loss of identity and empathy.

Form

• Structured Stanzas: 5-line stanzas with contrasting short final line.

  • Represents poet's control, contrasted with chaotic content.

• Half Rhymes: Unsettling effect mirrors unsettled war conditions.

• Purpose and Message:

  • Political message calling for awareness and action.
  • Practical implications: Need for adequate supplies and clothing.
  • Historical context: Continued relevance in modern warfare.

Conclusion

• The depth of Owen's work in conveying the horrors of war.
• Understanding these elements is crucial for high exam scores.
• Encouragement to engage with and subscribe for further content.