Writing a letter as a soldier in the trenches of World War One | English

Starter quiz

Personal letters were a vital form of communication during World War One. What are some common features of letters?
- the inclusion of an address ✓
- paragraphing ✓
- the inclusion of a date ✓
- enjambment and caeusra
- dialogue
Starting with the first, order these events from one of Wilfred Owen's 1917 letters to his mother during WW1 in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  greets his mother and says he has experienced "seventh hell"
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  recounts a long, hard march to a trench
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  details the agonies of spending fifty hours in a trench being shelled
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  explains the number of casualties and their nature
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  reassures his mother that he is ok
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  expresses his anger about what happened to him and other soldiers
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  signs off the letter
Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter to his mother during WW1 includes a number of metaphors. Which of the below are metaphors?
- "I am bitterly disappointed that I never got one of yours."
- "I have suffered seventh hell." ✓
- "We marched three miles over shelled road."
- "[the ground was] an octopus of sucking clay." ✓
- "My dug-out held 25 men tight packed."
Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter to his mother during WW1 includes a number of methods which help convey the horror of his experience. Match each quotation to its method.
- repetition
  
  ⇔
  
  It was of course dark, too dark [.] ✓
- onomatopoiea
  
  ⇔
  
  The seeng-seeng-seeng of the bullets reminded me of Mary's canary. ✓
- statistics
  
  ⇔
  
  Water filled it to a depth of 1 or 2 feet, leaving say 4 feet of air. ✓
- contrast
  
  ⇔
  
  Every ten minutes on Sunday afternoon seemed an hour. ✓
- verb choice
  
  ⇔
  
  [I had to] crawl, wade, climb and flounder over No Man's Land [.] ✓
In one of his 1917 letters to his mother during WW1, Owen writes of a particular episode in the trenches, "Those fifty hours were the ______ of my happy life."
- 'agony' ✓
In one of his 1917 letters to his mother during WW1, Owen describes the sludge of the trenches as "an ______ of sucking mud".
- 'octopus' ✓

Exit quiz

The majority of personal letters begin with a ______ which indicates who the letter is for.
- 'greeting' ✓
Sign offs like "Yours sincerely" and "Yours faithfully" are used for more ______ letters. Sign offs like "Love from" are used for more informal or personal letters.
- 'formal' ✓
We have looked at an example of a letter Wilfred Owen wrote to his mother during WW1. Why were letters such an important feature of life during WW1?
- They helped those at home understand the realities of war. ✓
- They were another strand of the government's propaganda.
- They provided comfort and joy in distressing circumstances. ✓
- It was the only way to get news about the war.
- Only important officers could receive letters, so it was a sign of status.
In Wilfred Owen's 1917 letters to his mother, how does Owen sign this letter off?
- Love wilfred
- Yours faithfully, Wilfred Owen
- Yours sincerely Wilfred
- Your very own Wilfred x ✓
- Kind regards, Wilfred
In one of his 1917 letters to his mother during WW1, Owen uses a ______ to describe the sludge of the trenches as "an octopus of sucking mud".
- 'metaphor' ✓
In one of his 1917 letters to his mother during WW1, Owen describes how he moved 150 yards across No Man's Land, saying he had to "crawl, ______, climb and flounder."
- 'wade' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The date, address and greeting are important features of letters.
A recount could balance precise facts with atmospheric details.
A letter concludes with a sign off which could signal your relationship with the person the letter is to.

Common misconception

People don't use literary methods in nonfiction writing.

Whenever you write any thing - even a shopping list - you are employing methods. Every word is a choice, thus every choice can be evaluated. In nonfiction writing (even nonfiction writing by people who aren't writers) methods will be used for effect.

Keywords

Recount - to describe something that happened, to tell its story
Balance - an equal distribution of two or more things
Metaphor - a literary technique in which you compare one thing to another; Owen compares mud to an octopus in his letter
Atmospheric - creating a distinctive mood
Resentment - a complex emotion in which you feel anger, disappointment, bitterness