Exposure and Disabled Essay Example

suggests that "dark" refers to death rather than night. Other examples within the poem strengthen this message by showing that the protagonist has no true existence left and is simply waiting for his demise.

The poem's structure consists of five verses: the first being six lines long, three with seven lines each, and a large 16-line verse. This pattern of similar line lengths and syllable counts reflects the protagonist's monotonous life as he waits for his inevitable end. Sadly, no one seems to care about him anymore - not even the hospital chaplain or his paid caregivers. Therefore, he has lost all sense of purpose and merely awaits his passing.

The language used in "Disabled" is both clever and contradictory in certain parts. One example of this is when the speaker mentions "blood - smear down his leg," which suggests that the subject is lively and enjoys playing football, not minding a small amount of blood from a scratch. However, the line "poured it down shell - holes till the veins ran dry" draws attention to the fact that blood loss can be life-threatening, particularly after losing a limb on the battlefield. Furthermore, there is a contrast between two lines in the third verse when it says "For it was younger than his youth, last year."

Now, he is elderly and unable to stand tall. The poem contrasts his past joy with his current dismal state caused by war. Alliterations such as "sewn short" and "ghastly suit of grey" emphasize his wretched circumstances. The poem also employs caesura, such as "sewn short at the elbow. Through the park." This pause in the midst of a sentence

encourages reflection and makes shorter statements more impactful on readers.

In addition to utilizing many similes, the poem includes the line "all of them touch him like some queer disease" to depict the girls who previously held affection for him but now shun him, thinking that he may transmit something. The poem contains an ironic tone, as Owen notes that many men were forced into war and were killed, but this particular man enlisted of his own accord.

Out of a desire to please his girlfriend at the time, "Meg," a young man joined the military without any consideration for the politics of the war. Ironically, when he was a teenager, he forged his age to get into the army where experience mattered, but now no one values his experience. Even the chaplain and paid carers do not show much interest in him. He has become a victim of time and longs for his nightmare of disability to end by letting time pass.

The poem concludes with a gloomy message, indicating that the man's remaining time is limited and he sees no purpose in persevering in his condition. This connects to the main theme and message of the poem, demonstrating a lack of concern from others and an absence of genuine emotions. The man experiences loneliness, evident in the first and final stanzas when he is left to go to bed alone and when he waits alone in his wheelchair for nighttime. These instances evoke compassion from the reader and fulfill Owen's objective of invoking sympathy for the victims of war.

The man in the poem repeatedly asks "Why don't they come?" to emphasize his disappointment that the

girls he went to war for no longer want to see him. "Exposure" is a poem that focuses on a handful of soldiers, about 5 or 6, who are stationed on a front line, where they are either manning sniper positions or defending an advanced position. The poem depicts the harsh conditions that all soldiers faced on the front lines during winter. The soldiers were exposed not only to the elements and enemy attacks but also to the tedium of war, even during combat situations.

Speaking from a plural first-person point of view on behalf of all the soldiers, the poem exudes a solemn and melancholic tone. The soldiers yearn for some action to alleviate their fear stemming from the unsettling silence and to spare them a gradual death by the harsh conditions. The final line of four verses is a three-worded phrase, "But nothing happens," portraying not only the monotony and despair of war but also their powerlessness and ignorance about their unpredictable fate. Thus, they feel like helpless spectators rather than active participants in the war.

Within "Exposure", the tone emulates that of "Disabled" in its mournful and saddening nature, yet it remains steady in contrast to "Disabled", which often fluctuates. Owen's verbiage accurately displays his perspective of warfare. The composition of "Exposure" entails eight stanzas consisting of five non-uniform lines. The length of each line is approximately 13 syllables and slight variation is present throughout the poem. However, the last line in each stanza is half the length of the others, approximately six syllables in length.

The poem maintains similar line lengths and can either pose a question or state a statement, such as

"What are we doing here?" Despite some unevenness in the lines' lengths, it is effective in conveying a sense of monotony. The language is serious and poetic, albeit restrained, perhaps due to the soldiers' situation. The poem contains vivid imagery to describe the surroundings of the salient along with the soldiers' thoughts. With weather being the most prominent issue at the time, it is extensively described in the poem.

An instance of this can be found in the line "the merciless iced east winds that knive us.." which effectively illustrates the harshness of the winds and personifies their true impact. The phrase "that knive us" evokes images of bitter winds cutting through the soldiers. In addition, Owen employs a daring half-rhyme with the pairing of "knive us" and "nervous" which underscores the poem's depiction of dire circumstances.

Within both the first and third verse, Owen employs personification. Specifically, the phrase "Dawn massing in the east, her melancholy army.. " exemplifies how soldiers must confront and handle the weather conditions. In addition to this, the army can be interpreted as either the actual enemy or the daily inevitability of dawn. Such usage is an excellent demonstration of how war remains consistent in its daily occurrence, much like the rising sun.

Furthermore, the poem reveals that the soldiers are battling against the elements rather than their foes. The third verse features an alliteration, "sudden successive flights..," which conveys a sense of rapid movement. This contrasts with the fact that the soldiers on the salient are not experiencing any action while their peers are engaged in combat.

Within the latter verses, soldiers are battling against death and endeavoring to prolong it

as they face reminders of it through both their surroundings and combat experiences. To avoid slipping into a hypothermia-induced daze that might result in their demise, they strive to occupy themselves by imagining different scenarios - for example, reflecting on memories of home or recalling details about their country. Nevertheless, these musings only amplify the sense of isolation they feel from both those back home and other members of their unit. Even their trust in God falters as they wonder why such dire circumstances have befallen them.

Within the poem, there exists a line that is unclear: "For love of God seems dying." This line can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, it may signify that soldiers feel their devotion to God diminishing as they participate in warfare. Secondly, it suggests that soldiers perceive dying on the battlefield for the sake of God's love as an honorable fate leading to heaven. Unlike "Disabled," these soldiers were most likely conscripted since no mention is made of fighting for glory. Nonetheless, they fight to secure freedom for their people which parallels with the other piece. The poem concludes with verse eight leaving its conclusion open-ended.

Both poems effectively convey Owen's expression of the horror of War, whether on the battlefield or as a result of it. The burying party is described as "shrivelling" and "puckering," implying that they will come to a very cold and unpleasant end, as evidenced by the last line "But nothing happens." This suggests that they can only endure one more night of this before slipping into death. In sum, War is a gruesome experience with no real winners.

Both poems utilize language effectively, enabling the

reader to empathize with the subjects and those who experienced the same misfortune. "Exposure" is superior in portraying the terror of war because it not only portrays the enemy's assaults on the soldiers but also their fight against harsh environmental conditions. Although "Disabled" offers insight into the aftermath and impact of war, it fails to capture the true essence of being under constant attack in a foreign and unfamiliar land.