Compare Exposure and Remains: Grade 9 Thesis & Quotes (AQA)

Quick Comparison Grid (The “Ninja Cheat Sheet”)

1. The Nature of Trauma: Physical Erosion vs. Psychological Haunting

Exposure:

• Owen focuses on the physical destruction of the self. The soldiers’ “brains ache” and their “fingers are ice,” showing how the environment is literally freezing their humanity away.
• The hallucinatory imagery (“Slowly our ghosts drag home”) suggests that the soldiers are already dead; they are merely waiting for their bodies to catch up with their spirits.
• Elite Link: The refrain “But nothing happens” creates a sense of existential futility—the trauma is not found in the “action” of war, but in the “inaction” and the slow realization that their lives are being wasted.

Remains:

• Armitage focuses on the psychological destruction of the self. The “blood-shadow” on the street is a metaphor for the memory that is “burnt” into the soldier’s mind.
• The repetition of “probably armed, possibly not” shows the moral ambiguity that fuels the trauma—the soldier is haunted by the uncertainty of his actions.
• Elite Link: The transition from the “sand” of the war zone to the “flush” of his domestic life shows that the trauma is portable; the soldier has brought the war home in his head, making “peace” impossible.

Explore: Owen shows war as a physical prison (the trenches), while Armitage shows it as a mental prison (PTSD)—both poets argue that the “real” war never truly ends for the soldier.

2. The Dehumanization of the “Other”: Nature vs. The Looter

Exposure:

• The “enemy” is dehumanized nature. Owen personifies the wind as “kniving” and the dawn as a “melancholy army.” By making nature the antagonist, Owen suggests that human conflict is a puny, irrelevant distraction from the true power of the world to kill.
• The lack of a human enemy in the poem makes the deaths feel even more pointless—there is no one to fight, only a cold world to die in.
• Elite Link: The final image of the “burying-party” with “shaking grasp” shows that the soldiers have become as indifferent and “iced” as the nature that killed them.

Remains:

• The “enemy” is dehumanized by language. The looter is described as “it” and his guts are “tossed” back into his body like “carted-off rubbish.” This colloquial, casual language shows how soldiers are trained to see humans as objects.
• However, the shift to the personal (“my bloody hands”) shows that this dehumanization fails. The soldier cannot maintain the “rubbish” narrative and is forced to confront the looter’s humanity.
• Elite Link: The pun on “bloody” (literal blood vs. British slang) shows the soldier’s attempt to use humor to mask the horror, but the final line proves that the “blood” is now a permanent part of his identity.

Explore: Owen uses personification to make nature a monster, while Armitage uses colloquialism to make a human an object—both poets explore how war requires the “erasure” of the other to function.

3. Structure: The Endless Loop vs. The Breaking Point

Exposure:

• The ABBAC rhyme scheme and the regular eight-stanza structure create a sense of monotonous, heavy repetition. The half-rhymes (“knive us” / “nervous”) create a sonic “itch” that never resolves, mirroring the soldiers’ discomfort.
• The cyclical refrains (“But nothing happens”) trap the reader in the same “loop” of waiting that the soldiers endure.
• Elite Link: The poem ends exactly where it began, suggesting that the “exposure” is a permanent state with no resolution or escape.

Remains:

• The free verse and enjambment mimic the rambling, fragmented nature of a spoken confession or a therapy session. The poem feels “unfiltered” and raw.
• The shift in structure at the end (the final two lines are a couplet) acts as a “breaking point.” The soldier stops rambling and is forced to face the final, inescapable truth of his guilt.
• Elite Link: The use of caesura (“Then I’m home on leave. But I blink—”) creates a sudden, jarring jump that reflects the intrusive nature of a flashback.

Explore: Owen uses structure to enact the wait, while Armitage uses structure to enact the flashback—both use form to show how trauma disrupts the normal flow of time.

Context Comparison (AO3 Power Move)

Elite Insight: Owen’s “Exposure” is about the death of the body in a war that won’t move, while Armitage’s “Remains” is about the death of the soul in a war that won’t leave. Both poets challenge the “heroic” narrative by showing that the soldier is always the ultimate victim.

Exam Sentence Starters

1. “While Owen captures the stagnant, sensory agony of men being physically erased by nature, Armitage explores the cyclical, psychological haunting of a soldier consumed by guilt…”
2. “Both poets explore the ‘moral injury’ of war: Owen through the ‘shrivelling’ of faith in the cold, and Armitage through the ‘blood-shadow’ that follows the soldier home…”
3. “The ‘iced’ eyes of the dead in Exposure serve as a chilling parallel to the ‘blink’ that triggers a flashback in Remains, as both poets show how war permanently alters a soldier’s vision of the world…”
4. “Owen’s use of half-rhyme and refrains enacts the monotonous futility of the trenches, whereas Armitage’s use of colloquialism and enjambment mirrors the intrusive, rambling nature of PTSD…”
5. “Contextually, Owen’s firsthand ‘witnessing’ of WWI parallels Armitage’s empathetic ‘testimony’ of modern veterans, as both poets seek to shatter the myth of the ‘noble’ soldier…”

FAQs

What is the best poem to compare with Exposure?

Remains is perfect for the psychological impact of war. You can also compare it to Charge of the Light Brigade for futility vs. glory, or Storm on the Island for the power of nature.

What is the best poem to compare with Remains?

Exposure is excellent for the “pity” of war. Alternatively, compare it to Bayonet Charge for the moment of the kill, or War Photographer for the guilt of the witness.

What is the best theme linking Exposure and Remains?

The Reality of War and its Aftermath—specifically, how conflict destroys the individual’s sense of self, whether through physical cold or psychological guilt.

What quotes should I compare between Exposure and Remains?

• “Our brains ache” (Exposure) vs. “He’s here in my head” (Remains)—the physical vs. mental location of trauma.
• “But nothing happens” (Exposure) vs. “Probably armed, possibly not” (Remains)—the futility of the wait vs. the ambiguity of the action.
• “Eyes are ice” (Exposure) vs. “His bloody life in my bloody hands” (Remains)—the loss of life vs. the loss of innocence.

How do I compare structure in Exposure and Remains?

Owen uses regular stanzas and cyclical refrains to mirror the inescapable, monotonous wait of the trenches. Armitage uses free verse and colloquial enjambment to mirror the intrusive, uncontrollable nature of a traumatic memory. Both use form to show how war “traps” the soldier.

What is a Grade 9 thesis for Exposure vs. Remains?

“While Owen captures the stagnant, sensory agony of men being physically erased by an indifferent natural world, Armitage explores the cyclical, psychological haunting of a soldier being mentally consumed by guilt.”

Read Next

• • • • • • Exposure Revision Sheet
          • Remains Revision Sheet
          • Power & Conflict Comparisons Hub