Exposure

    AQA
    GCSE

    Wilfred Owen’s 'Exposure' depicts the harrowing physical and psychological experience of soldiers waiting in the trenches during the harsh winter of 1917. The narrative focuses not on enemy action, but on the relentless assault of nature, which is personified as a hostile, murderous force more deadly than the German army. Through a collective voice ('We'), the speaker explores the monotony of waiting, the hallucination of home induced by hypothermia, and the gradual loss of religious faith. The poem is cyclical, beginning and ending with the refrain 'But nothing happens,' emphasizing the futility of their suffering and the stalemate of war. Ultimately, the text serves as a protest against the patriotic propaganda of the era, exposing the unglamorous reality of slow death by exposure.

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    Objectives
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    Exam Tips
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    Pitfalls
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    Key Terms
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    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • AO1: Develop a conceptualized comparison arguing that the true enemy is the environment, not the opposing army, linking to the theme of futility.
    • AO2: Analyse the use of collective pronouns ('we', 'our') to establish shared suffering and the refrain 'But nothing happens' to critique the paralysis of war.
    • AO2: Evaluate the effect of sibilance and personification in 'merciless iced east winds that knive us' to depict nature's malice and the sensory reality of the trenches.
    • AO3: Integrate context regarding the severe winter of 1917 and Owen's rejection of jingoistic propaganda to illuminate the poem's nihilistic tone.

    Example Examiner Feedback

    Real feedback patterns examiners use when marking

    • "You have identified the personification of the wind; now analyse how the verb 'knive' specifically alters the reader's perception of nature."
    • "Ensure your comparison is integrated. Instead of writing about 'Exposure' then 'Bayonet Charge', switch between them within the same paragraph."
    • "Your context regarding WWI is accurate, but you must explain how it shaped Owen's specific choice of the refrain 'But nothing happens'."
    • "Avoid asserting that the soldiers are 'bored'; explore the psychological trauma of 'strained' anticipation."

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • AO1: Develop a conceptualized comparison arguing that the true enemy is the environment, not the opposing army, linking to the theme of futility.
    • AO2: Analyse the use of collective pronouns ('we', 'our') to establish shared suffering and the refrain 'But nothing happens' to critique the paralysis of war.
    • AO2: Evaluate the effect of sibilance and personification in 'merciless iced east winds that knive us' to depict nature's malice and the sensory reality of the trenches.
    • AO3: Integrate context regarding the severe winter of 1917 and Owen's rejection of jingoistic propaganda to illuminate the poem's nihilistic tone.

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡Allocate 45 minutes: 5 minutes planning the comparison points, 40 minutes writing.
    • 💡Ensure the comparison is sustained; use connective phrases like 'Similarly,' or 'In contrast,' at the start of paragraphs.
    • 💡Prioritize the printed poem for close analysis but ensure the memory poem has at least 3-4 specific textual references.
    • 💡Focus on the 'How' in the question—analyse methods (sibilance, ellipses, rhetorical questions) rather than just describing the situation.

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Misidentifying the antagonist as German soldiers rather than the personified weather.
    • Providing biographical data on Owen's death without linking it to the poem's specific critique of suffering.
    • Treating the comparison as two separate essays rather than an integrated, weaving argument.
    • Asserting 'nothing happens' means the poem is boring, rather than analyzing the tension of anticipation.

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