Wilfred Owen's Exposure

Wilfred Owen's Exposure :

Brains aching, dying, eyes becoming ice, all this sounds like a nightmare. In Wilfred Owen's "Exposure," the speaker talks about the nightmares of not war but the cruelty of nature. In Exposure, Owen describes the fury of nature and how soldiers in the war die not only because of war. Exposure to the severe cold is killing everyone.
The speaker starts off by saying, "Our brains ache." The negative nature of this statement gives one a clue as to the negative themes in the rest of the poem. One of the present themes in the poem is silence. However, the presence of silence is ironic because it is wartime, and that is a time of noise and chaos. This silence is unnerving for the war soldiers also as stated, "Worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous, but nothing happens. Another theme in the poem is death. The theme of death is not surprising at first, since it is wartime and people die during war, but these people are dying because of the cold. The war in the poem is practically nonexistent. The speaker constantly talks about dying, like the time he asks, "Is it that we are dying?" Or when he says, "For love of God seems dying." Clearly, these people have no hope whatsoever. A very important theme, God, is also present in this poem.
"Since we believe not otherwise can kind fires burn; Nor ever suns smile true on child, or field, or fruit. For God's invincible spring our love is made afraid; Therefore, not loath, we lie out here; therefore were born, For love of God seems dying."
The speaker's words show that he is a believer of God and everything that's happening is God's doing. The ambiguity of the line, "For love of God seems dying," is confusing because it has not been clearly specified if God's love for man is dying, or man's love of God. Either way, God would is displeased and will kill man.
It may seem the poem has pessimistic thoughts all the way through it, but no. Stanza six has a little bit of a cheery moment in it. There are 'crickets that jingle' and 'innocent mice rejoicing.' This happens when the soldiers are dozing and in their dreams they think about their home and the happy life they had before the war. This stanza does an excellent job of showing the extreme contrasts between the soldiers' good times at home and their misery during the war. Right after the rejoicing mice, the sad and somber mood of the poem returns by saying, "Shutters and doors, all closed: on us the doors are closed,"
Imagery of nature is used throughout the poem, since much of the poem is based on nature. The author has used anthropomorphism and ascribed several human characteristics to nature. For example, the author has used, "dawn's army,' or "pale flakes feeling for faces." This really gives the feeling of nature being in control of everything including the soldiers' lives, which it pretty much is.
The author has used some literary devices that enhance the overall effect of the poem. One of the devices used is Para-rhyme. The Para-rhyme creates an echoing effect in each stanza. For example, in the first stanza, salient Para-rhymes with silent. The word 'salient' echoes silence, which the soldiers are experiencing. Furthermore, the word 'salient' is actually quiet appropriate to use, because silence is salient in this situation.
Another device used is alliteration. The alliterations used have an effect of onomatopoeias. For example, the repeating 's' consonant sound in, "silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous," signifies silence and as incredible as it may seem, present the sound of silence. Perhaps a better example would be, "Northward, incessantly, the flickering gunnery rumbles." The resonating of the consonant sound 'r' marks the alliteration and the 'r' sound also reminds one of the "rat-ta-tat" of gunfire during a war.
Yet another device used is a simile. For example, "Watching, we hear the mad gusts tugging on the wire, Like twitching agonies of men among its brambles." This simile not only shows natures control over the situation but shows the agonies of men, what they are going through in the unforgiving cold. This simile almost makes one hear the screaming or moaning of the men in agony.
Clearly, Wilfred Owen tries to show not only the suffering caused by the war, but also by nature and God. Owen succeeds in keeping the sad and negative mood alive throughout the poem, even after the short cheery moment. Owen drifts away from the topic of war, and still is able to tell the misfortune of men during exposure to nature at time of war.