Starter quiz
- What is the definition of the word 'subvert'?
- cause someone to lose confidence or hope
- incapable of producing any useful result
- to undermine or go against ✓
-
- When was World War I?
- 1913-1919
- 1914-1918 ✓
- 1945-1959
- 1939-1945
-
- What is meant by the term 'propaganda'?
- misleading information used to promote a political cause or point of view ✓
- factual information used to promote a political cause or point of view
- information used to encourage people to protest
-
- What method is being defined here: 'the recurrence of a word or phrase.'?
- 'repetition' ✓
- During WWI what message was often given to soldiers and those enlisting about fighting in the war?
- it was frightening
- it was honourable ✓
- it could be fatal
- it was brave ✓
-
- What type of structure it being described here: 'the ending of the text is in some way linked to the beginning.'?
- cyclical ✓
- chronological
- non-linear
-
Exit quiz
- In which year did Wilfred Owen enlist in WWI?
- 1914
- 1915 ✓
- 1916
- 1917
- 1918
-
- When did Owen write 'Exposure'?
- 1915
- 1916
- 1917 ✓
- 1918
-
- In 'Exposure', what did Owen suggest is the real enemy to him and his fellow soldiers?
- nature ✓
- wildlife
- the opposing army
-
- What is Owen’s most repeated line in ‘Exposure’?
- “Is it that we are dying?”
- “But nothing happens.” ✓
- “We turn back to our dying”
-
- What was Owen's attitude towards war as shown in 'Exposure'?
- Owen thought the war was futile. ✓
- Owen was proud to be fighting in the war.
- Owen thought the war was worth the deaths.
-
- Complete the following quotation from 'Exposure': "Our brains ______, in the merciless iced east winds..."
- 'ache' ✓
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Recruitment posters in World War One led to a belief that to fight in war symbolised honour and bravery.
- Owen enlisted in 1915 as he wanted to fight for his country. His horrific experiences changed his perspective.
- He wrote ’Exposure’ reflecting on a letter he wrote to his mother describing the conditions of the trenches in 1917.
- Owen suggests that nature is a more brutal enemy than the opposition, subverting many expectations about war.
- The poem may convey Owen’s critique against the government as soldiers were dying from trench and weather conditions.
Common misconception
People's attitudes to war are stagnant.
Wilfred Owen's attitude towards war changed after he enlisted. His poetry explores this.
Keywords
Enlist - voluntarily join the military.
Subvert - to undermine or go against.
Demoralise - cause someone to lose confidence or hope.
Futile - incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.
+