New
New
Year 10
AQA
Understanding the poem 'Exposure'
I can explain how Owen’s experiences shaped his attitudes towards war.
New
New
Year 10
AQA
Understanding the poem 'Exposure'
I can explain how Owen’s experiences shaped his attitudes towards war.
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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.
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.
Common misconception
People's attitudes to war are stagnant.
Wilfred Owen's attitude towards war changed after he enlisted. His poetry explores this.
There are a wealth of WW1 resources that you can show students before reading the poem - more propaganda posters, excerpts from WW1 letters and writings/transcripts on the harsh weather conditions at war. This can help them make predictions and be a 'hook' into the lesson.
Teacher tip
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the AQA Power and Conflict Anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
- Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
What is the definition of the word 'subvert'?
cause someone to lose confidence or hope
incapable of producing any useful result
Q2.
When was World War I?
1913-1919
1945-1959
1939-1945
Q3.
What is meant by the term 'propaganda'?
factual information used to promote a political cause or point of view
information used to encourage people to protest
Q4.
What method is being defined here: 'the recurrence of a word or phrase.'?
Q5.
During WWI what message was often given to soldiers and those enlisting about fighting in the war?
it was frightening
it could be fatal
Q6.
What type of structure it being described here: 'the ending of the text is in some way linked to the beginning.'?
chronological
non-linear
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
In which year did Wilfred Owen enlist in WWI?
1914
1916
1917
1918
Q2.
When did Owen write 'Exposure'?
1915
1916
1918
Q3.
In 'Exposure', what did Owen suggest is the real enemy to him and his fellow soldiers?
wildlife
the opposing army
Q4.
What is Owen’s most repeated line in ‘Exposure’?
“Is it that we are dying?”
“We turn back to our dying”
Q5.
What was Owen's attitude towards war as shown in 'Exposure'?
Owen was proud to be fighting in the war.
Owen thought the war was worth the deaths.
Q6.
Complete the following quotation from 'Exposure': "Our brains , in the merciless iced east winds..."
Additional material
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