Exposure by Wilfred Owen: Context

Exposure by Wilfred Owen: Context

1. About the Poet

   • Wilfred Owen was a soldier in WW1. However, he died just a week before the armistice (Peace Agreement)
   • He had to spend around 2 days straight in the trenches. Which is evident in his description of the surroundings
     • "We were marooned in a frozen desert"
     • "There was not a sign of life on the horizon and a thousand signs of death
     • "The marvel is we did not all die of cold"

2. About the Poem

   • Gives a first hand depiction of the life of trench soldiers
   • Set in WW1 (1914-18)
     • At first it was thought the war would end swiftly. However both sides then got locked into a stalemate.
   • The Soldiers spent a lot of time in filthy trenches
     • Both sides had trenches but rarely exchanged fire
   • Many soldiers dies not of gunfire/ fighting but from nature e.g Hypothermia, frostbite, trench foot