poetry

1. Mametz Wood - Owen Sheers
For years afterwards the farmers found them –
the wasted young, turning up under their plough blades
as they tended the land back into itself.
A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade,
the relic of a finger, the blown
and broken bird’s egg of a skull,
all mimicked now in flint, breaking blue in white
across this field where they were told to walk, not run,
towards the wood and its nesting machine guns.
And even now the earth stands sentinel,
reaching back into itself for reminders of what happened
like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin.
This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave,
a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm,
their skeletons paused mid dance-macabre
in boots that outlasted them,
their socketed heads tilted back at an angle
and their jaws, those that have them, dropped open.
As if the notes they had sung
have only now, with this unearthing,
slipped from their absent tongues.
Image createdof farmers
diggingupthe bodiesof the
soldierswholosttheirlives
inthe battle of the Somme
The adjective ‘wasted’is
emotive- the soldierswouldhave
beenveryyoung.Noun‘young’
illustratestheirinnocence and
naivety- veryemotive asthey
shouldnothave died.
Emotive language- sheers’
message isclearfromthe
beginning-manyyounglives
were lostneedlessly.Theirlives
didnot needtoendlike this.
Metaphor- sheersuses
the delicate imageryof
‘china’to show the
fragilityof life-how
precioustheirliveshad
been.
Alliteration-repetition of ‘b’
soundcreatesa harsh sound;
createsa tone of resentment
that these liveswerelostso
brutally
Metaphor- ‘nesting’creates
connotationsof a birdnest;
highlightshowthe oppositions
gunshad almostbecome partof
nature (the woods).Reinforces
that the soldierswere not
preparedforthisdangerous
battle.
Verb‘told’showshow
powerlessthese soldiers
were;theyhadto follow
commandand were not
readilypreparedforwhat
facedthem.
Simile.Disturbingimageryto
showthat theirbodiesdonot
belongthere.Showshow
unnatural war andconflictis.
These mendeserve tobe
remembered.
Personification.Sentinel- a
soldierkeepingwatch.Shows
that nature isnow keeping
watch overtheirremains- thisis
an area of remembrance.
The hyphenhere could
portray the disruptionto
the soldiers’lives,asthe
overtakingMametzwood
shouldnothave concluded
as brutally asit did.
Caesura- ‘yearsafterwards’
showsthe large amountof
remainstobe found.Abrupt
pause addsemphasistothe
nextline- somanyyoung
liveswere lost.
Adjective ‘long’emphasisesthe large numberof
remainsbutalsoreinforcesthatthese men
haven’thadtheirown,individual sacrifices
acknowledged
Metaphoremphasises thattheirshatteredremains
have come togetheras one.Theylivedanddied
togetherundersuchhorrificcircumstances.
Juxtaposition.The concrete noun
‘boots’survival isjuxtaposedwith
‘them’andtheirshatteredremains.
Exposesthattheirsacrificeshave
not beengiventhe creditthey
deserve Brutal and honestimagery. Doesnotuse
euphemisticlanguage.Sheersabruptlygivesan
honest,albeitbrutal,accountof theirremainsto
show the harsh truth of war and conflict.
Adverbial phrase ‘onlynow’highlights
that the soldiershave onlybeengiven
a voice and recognitionnowthat
theirbodieshave beendiscovered.
Metaphor.Whilst‘absent
tongues’isliteral,itisalsoa
metaphorforthemhaving
theiridentityandlivestaken
fromthem.Thisharsh final
image remindsthe readerof
theirhorrificdeathsandthe
futilityof war

2. Summary
Sheersexploresthe experienceof
the farmersinFrance findingthe
remainsof soldierswholosttheir
livesduringthe Battle of Somme.
He notesthatthe memories
remaininthe soil as he switches
frompast to present
He aimsto give a voice tothose
whoneedlesslylosttheirlives; to
the fallensoldierswhodidnot
receive the recognitionthey
deservedwhentheydiedduring
battle at sucha youngage.
Context
Basedon the ‘Battle of Somme’- 7th
July
1916.
Mametz isa village inNorthernFrance.
It was a scene of fierce fightinginWW1
The Welshdivisionwereorderedto
make Mametz wood.Theywere
underprepared;the battle lastedfor
five days
4000 casualties.600 dead
Welshsucceededbuttheircourage was
nevertrulyacknowledged.
Overhalf of all WWI soldiers were
between18and 23 whenthey enlisted.
Structure/Form
Compiledof seven,three lined
stanzas(tercets) tomimicthe rowsof
the bodiesfound.
However,theirseparationcouldbe
an attemptby Owentogive the
soldiersindividuality- gratitudefor
each of them.
Enjambment- the continuesflow,
ongoingconflictandfarmerssearch
for theirremains.