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Year 10
Edexcel

Comparing experiences in Owen's 'Exposure' and Satyamurti's 'War Photographer'

I can describe how poets use language, form and structure to express their different experiences of war.

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New
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Year 10
Edexcel

Comparing experiences in Owen's 'Exposure' and Satyamurti's 'War Photographer'

I can describe how poets use language, form and structure to express their different experiences of war.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Owen's authentic poem presents a first hand experience of war.
  2. Often first hand experiences create more harrowing poetry.
  3. Both poems use sensory descriptions to create a vivid impression of warzones.
  4. Both poets explore the atrocities of war.
  5. Comparative adjectives can be used to evaluate the subtle differences between the poets’ attitudes and methods.

Common misconception

Both poems are based on a firsthand experience of war.

Only 'Exposure' is based on firsthand experience since Owen was serving as a WWI British soldier while writing. Satyamurti's poem wasn't based on any one particular person, event or conflict.

Keywords

  • Firsthand - directly experienced or observed, without intermediaries or secondary sources

  • Mediated - experienced through an intermediary or secondary source, not directly experienced or observed

  • Evaluate - making a ‘value’ judgement about the quality of something (e.g. it is longer, better, more harrowing)

  • Sensory descriptions - detailed depictions that appeal to the senses, enhancing imagery and immersion in writing

  • Comparative adjectives - words used to compare differences or similarities between two or more nouns or pronouns

Before exploring the first learning cycle, create a mindmap together with students exploring all the different people who 'work' in warzones and consider how they might perceive or be affected by conflict differently.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need access to a copy of ‘War Photographer’ by Carole Satyamurti and ‘Exposure’ by Wilfred Owen. These poems can be found in the Edexcel Poetry Anthology (we will be using the ‘Conflict’ cluster).

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a rhetorical question?
a question directed specifically to someone
a question with only one possible answer
Correct answer: a question posed for effect or emphasis, not expecting a direct answer
a question that cannot be definitively answered
a question with no right answer
Q2.
Which of the five senses is missing from this list? See, hear, taste, touch and ...
Correct Answer: smell
Q3.
Which of these words means 'having reduced sensitivity or emotional response, often due to repeated exposure to something'?
indifference
Correct answer: desensitised
devolved
diminished
Q4.
What is PTSD?
the process of signing up to join the army
Correct answer: a mental health condition triggered by a traumatic event
an illness experienced by people who have inhaled smoke from a fire
the treaty that brought about the end of WWI
Q5.
Which of these words is a synonym for 'surreal'?
Correct answer: other-worldly
ubiquitous
flammable
chaotic
Q6.
What is a thesis statement?
a great way to plan an essay
another phrase for 'contextual information'
a sentence using comparative language to show the relationship between the texts
a summary of the main argument of an essay, usually found in the conclusion
Correct answer: a summary of the main argument of an essay, usually found in the introduction

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each of these words to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:firsthand,directly experienced or observed, without intermediaries or sources

directly experienced or observed, without intermediaries or sources

Correct Answer:mediated,experienced through an intermediary or secondary source, indirect

experienced through an intermediary or secondary source, indirect

Correct Answer:authentic,genuine, real, or true to its own nature, origin or character

genuine, real, or true to its own nature, origin or character

Q2.
What does evaluate mean?
identifying similarities and differences between two or more things
examining or studying something in detail, breaking it down into smaller parts
Correct answer: making a ‘value’ judgement about the quality of something
combining or integrating various elements or ideas to form a coherent whole
Q3.
Why may we argue that the speaker of Satyamurti's 'War Photographer' has an indirect experience of the horrors of war?
They have never actually visited a warzone.
They are desensitised to the violence of war.
Correct answer: They witness and capture the traumatic experiences of others using their camera.
We couldn't argue this - their experience of war is direct and firsthand.
Q4.
How does Wilfred Owen provide a more harrowing account of war in 'Exposure' than Carole Satyamurti's depiction in 'War Photographer'?
Correct answer: Both poems use sensory descriptions but only Owen focuses on a range of senses.
Both poems uses rhetorical questions but only Owen repeats them throughout.
Owen's poem uses the form of a sonnet, showing his love for those he lost.
He doesn't - Satyamurti more effectively captures war's atrocities using similes
Q5.
Which of these words is an example of a comparative vocabulary?
Correct answer: whereas
perhaps
implies
evidently
Correct answer: both
Q6.
How can we add detail to a thesis statement?
support our ideas with evidence from the text
zoom in the writer's use of methods
Correct answer: introduce and summarise the key ideas in each text
explain the key ideas in one poem in detail
Correct answer: link to the writer’s intentions or wider context