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The poem "Exposure" written by "Wilfred Owen" is one which explores an interesting theme, this theme being suffering. Exposure, by Wilfred Owen is a poem that explores the suffering and experiences of WW1 soldiers stuck in the trenches. this poem describes the horrendous situations in which soldiers suffered through and highlights the different struggles they had to put up with. The author uses techniques such as; word-choice, imagery, rhetorical questions, and emotive language to further push this theme of suffering.
One technique the author uses to express the theme of suffering comes in the very first line of the poem. The quote "Our brains ache, in the merciless iced east winds that knife us" this quote uses a metaphor of the phrase "knives us" which suggests that even the weather had turned against the soldiers as the line describes how the weather was the one attacking the soldiers not the enemy. this quote helps explore the theme of suffering as it not only explores the literal description of pain but also the extreme mental anguish which would be affecting the soldiers.
Another quote which expresses the theme of suffering comes from the line which gets repeated throughout the poem. this quote being "But nothing happened" by using repetition this quote describes the psychological suffering of the soldiers stuck in the trenches waiting for the end of this fighting. the waiting and inactivity cause the soldiers immense despair but the end of the battle never seems to come. this adds to the sense of suffering as the soldiers are forced to put up with the endless pain of a battle that doesn't seem to be amounting to anything.
Another quote which expresses the theme of suffering could be the quote "the poignant misery of dawn begins to grow." this quote expresses the theme of suffering by using imagery to paint the image of a new day only brining more crushing hopelessness. this quote contrasts with the expected hope you'd think would be brought by the coming of the new day. this quote expresses suffering by turning the usually happy symbol of dawn into something that brings nothing but pain to those stuck in the trenches.
Another quote which expresses the theme of suffering could be the line "what are we doing here?" this key quote uses a rhetorical question to highlight the soldiers confusion about how their suffering isn't amounting to anything and the fact that they are just enduring, not achieving. this quote expresses the theme of suffering by focusing in on the fact that even the soldiers are unsure why they are suffering.
A final quote which expresses the theme of suffering could be the quote "all their eyes are ice" the word "ice" is an example of emotive language which pushes the soldiers collective suffering. This quote pushes the profound sense of desensitisation and suffering which affects everyone included in the war making it sound like all the soldiers share the sense of extreme loss.
to conclude, Exposure by Wilfred Owen is a poem which clearly expresses the theme of suffering in many ways, word choice which explains how the deadly weather could be even more troublesome than the enemy soldiers. repetition of how nothings being achieved and that their suffering is all for nothing. imagery to paint usually hope filled metaphors as nothing but more doom and pain, emotive language to express the soldiers shared suffering and how everyone in the war shared this sense of pain and suffering and finally the quote "what are we doing here" which depicts that the soldiers don't even know why they suffer, they are lost and in pain and are unsure why its happening and when it'll end. Personally I believe Owen is successful in clearly exploring this theme and I have enjoyed learning about the treacherous experiences of the soldiers suffering in the trenches during WW1