4.1.2
Personification
Personification of the Weather
Personification of the Weather
The weather is personified throughout to make it sound menacing and deadly. This also characterises the weather as the real enemy of the soldiers. Here are some examples of personification of the weather:
“Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us”
“Our brains ache in the merciless iced east winds that knive us”
- The sibilance also highlights the intensity of the pain and the brutality of the weather.
“Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow”
“Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow”
- Nature is presented as more damaging and deadly than the bullets.
“Pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces”
“Pale flakes with fingering stealth come feeling for our faces”
- The consonance (repetition of consonant sounds) here reflects the ferocity of the weather.
Dawn and Soldiers
Dawn and Soldiers
Dawn is personified in these lines: “Dawn amassing in the East her melancholy army / Attacks once more in ranks on shivering ranks of grey.” These lines are important. Here's an analysis:
Contradiction
Contradiction
- Dawn, usually associated with ideas of light and hope, is here hostile and brings even more suffering.
Colour imagery
Colour imagery
- The colour imagery “grey” conveys ideas of despair and boredom.
Military vocabulary
Military vocabulary
- “Ranks” is a military term and is repeated, reminding the reader that the weather is the soldiers’ enemy.
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
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