In both Journey's End and "Exposure", war is generally presented in a dark light as Owen and RC Sheriff, respectively, focus on attitude of soldiers throughout their front line experience. While Owen draws more attention to the tension created by the harsh winter conditions in the trenches, Sherriff focuses on the internal events of the trenches and how soldiers are subjected to emotional stress as a consequence of war. However, both texts constantly refer to the slow pace of the First World War and suggest that soldiers spent most of their time simply waiting for the enemy's next move. Furthermore, Owen and Sherriff imply that the soldiers were almost living in a false reality, as they avoid mentioning the enemy or any serious events of the war much and tend to have rather mundane conversations. Likewise, both writers hint at the psychological strain on soldiers as a result of their continued exposure not only to weather conditions, but to the variety of horrors they face on the battlefield. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The idea of ​​war as a tenuous state is reinforced throughout Owen's "Exposition" as at the end of stanzas 1, 3, 4, and 7 the phrase "but nothing happens" is repeated. The fact that the sentence opens with "but" indicates that, despite the soldiers' preparation, they still have to wait painfully until the opposition decides to launch an attack. This implies that men become more distressed as time passes because waiting simply allows them to think about the situation more, increasing their panic. The repetition of the statement and the rhyme scheme abba ba produces a cyclical effect, thus allowing the reader to reflect on the tediousness of war and the monotonous routine of the soldiers. Similarly in Journey's End Sherriff often uses the captions "there is silence" to convey the eerie atmosphere that occurs as a result of the lack of action. When talking about the German attack Osbourne states that "it was expected for the last month", which once again demonstrates the slow development of the war, as the soldiers have no choice but to enjoy themselves while anticipating the next raid. In fact, one of the potential names for Journey's End was "Waiting," so it's clear that Sheriff saw the war as some sort of senseless waiting game that caused great irritation, but mostly anguish, to the soldiers on the front lines. Denial is another common theme in "Exposure" and Journey's End as the authors suggest that the soldiers block out the nightmarish nature of war by almost refusing to accept that it is real. For example, in "Exposure" Owen's use of rhetorical questions creates a sense of disbelief and confusion as they ask "what are we doing here?" and "are we dying?" This shows how the soldiers were so overwhelmed by the whole process of war, that they practically forgot their true purpose; thus triggering feelings of denial. The soldiers question their existence in a dazed tone, as if they were semi-conscious, which once again demonstrates their loss of commitment to the war. In the fifth verse, Owen's alliteration in the words 'dazed', 'deep', 'ditches', 'drowse', 'dozed' and 'dying' produces a heavy, trance-like tone - creating the image of a inert and exhausted man. trudging soldier. This adds to the idea of ​​the subconscious and produces a dreamlike state of mind that verifies the soldiers' withdrawal from the war. Owen also compares the sound of artillery fire to “a dull voice.