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.

2. How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?
For years afterwards the farmers found them –
the wasted young, turning up under their plough blades
as they tended the land back into itself.
“wasted young”.
This suggests that the soldiers should not have died. The word “wasted” suggests there was no reason for the deaths.
How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?

3. How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?
A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade,
the relic of a finger,
A “relic” is a historical object or remains. It suggests the bodies were found long after the war had ended.
This metaphor suggests that the soldiers were fragile and delicate. This contrasts the idea that soldiers are strong.
How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?

4. How is sound used similarly in Dulce et Decorum est?
the blown
and broken bird’s egg of a skull,
The plosive b sound mimics the sound of the guns in battle, which emphasises the violence of war. This is emphasised by the use of enjambment, which shows how the soldiers were blown apart.
How is sound used similarly in Dulce et Decorum est?

5. How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?
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.
The soldiers were given orders. They were told to walk towards gunfire. This suggests the soldiers were easy targets.
How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?

6. Sentinel means someone who keeps watch. The earth is personified.
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.
Simile – the soldiers should not be in the soil; they should not have died. The word “foreign” shows the soldiers did not die at home.
How are comparisons used similarly in Dulce et Decorum est?

7. How does this contrast with Dulce et Decorum est?
This morning, twenty men buried in one long grave,
a broken mosaic of bone linked arm in arm,
A mosaic is something carefully constructed; the bodies were buried with care. It is broken, which could represent the injuries the soldiers had.
There is a change in time. The poem moves from the present to the past.
How does this contrast with Dulce et Decorum est?

8. What links can you see with Dulce et Decorum est?
their skeletons paused mid dance-macabre
in boots that outlasted them,
Dance macabre theme of much medieval poetry. It depicts a skeleton (Death) leading all ranks of people to their graves. In the poem the skeletons are “paused”; they did not get a proper burial or grave because they died in battle.
What links can you see with Dulce et Decorum est?

9. This suggests the soldiers died in pain.
their socketed heads tilted back at an angle
and their jaws, those that have them, dropped open.
This shows the violence and horrors of war.
How does this link to Dulce et Decorum est?

10. As if the notes they had sung
have only now, with this unearthing,
slipped from their absent tongues.
Now the bodies have been discovered, the soldiers who died in the battle at Mametz Wood can be remembered. Their sacrifice has been discovered; they didn’t get chance to talk about their contribution to the war.