Manhunt Flashcards
Only then would he let me trace, the frozen river which ran through his face
• Anaphora ‘only then’ used to recount the individual actions that the speaker takes to find the root of her husband’s psychological issues / step-by-step nature of the healing process, a gradual progression towards an unclear point in the future – slow, arduous process of healing that both the soldier and wife are undertaking
- ‘Let me’ delineates reluctance to even allow his wife to tend for him – emphases the depths of his psychological damage
- ‘Trace’ = soft, tentative nature of Laura – insulates frailty of soldiers mental state
- ‘Frozen river’ emphases the permanent physical scarring on the man’s face, which in turn reflects the pain and brutality of war, particularly the harsh impacts it had on the solder’s experience
- ‘Frozen’ = also coldness – husband’s cold, unemotional state / water ‘frozen’ not flowing = unable to freely speak about his experience in war – has been inhibited but trauma (poignant image)
- However being ‘frozen’ is a temporary state – potential for recovery
- ‘Face’ – loss of personal identity due to change of appearance
- ‘Through’ – scars are deeper than surface level – have an unseen psychological impact •
Only then would he let me explore The blown hinge of his lower jaw
- Repetition of ‘only then’ – step-by-step healing process
- Brutal description of the injured ‘lower jaw’ – a harrowing image which paints a vivid picture of the evils of war
- Metaphorically, war has rendered him speechless – forced an almost introverted nature onto him –
- Notable half rhyme between ‘explore’ and ‘jaw’, a departure from the the perfect rhymes of the first two stanzas – a jarring, sudden change highlights the unpredictability of both the relationship na the soldier’s mental state
- MAYBE - Males expected to be stoic and emotionless – not speak out about their trauma
Feel the hurt of his grazed heart
- Marks the transition in the poem from describing physical damage to describing emotional damage
- ‘Grazed’ – suggests he has been scratched and scarred at his emotional core – inspires sympathy within a reader
- However, now the pain is shared between husband and wife – she has finally become so close to him that she can empathise with his pain
- Also, a ‘graze’ Is temporary, and therefore a reader feels hopeful for the soldier
The foetus of metal beneath his chest Where the bullet had finally come to rest.
- Surprising use of ‘foetus’ – birth and war appear to be seemingly unconnected. However, unexpected use of ‘foetus’ allows Armitage to empathise the effects of war as well as its unforeseen/unanticipated/unpredicted Impacts
- Parallel between a bullet implanting into the body of a man, with a baby in a woman
- ‘foetus’ represents the life-changing nature of the war, much like the life-altering birth of a child
- By metaphorically depicting the bullet as a ‘foetus’, the speaker suggests that the bullet’s passage into the soldier’s body has forcibly inserted a new person deep within him – this new person represents the drastic change in personality post-war
- “Foetus of metal” – incongruous, startling metaphor – the bullet = a parasite, a reminder of what he had been through. Also, psychological repercussions of the solder’s experiences – a danger that this ‘foetus’ of emotional pain will continue to grow if left unchecked
- Metal has connotation of industry, construction and war therefore contributing to the semantic field of warfare, which juxtaposes with ‘foetus’ – a striking contrast
then I wondered the search … to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind
- A reference to the title – the manhunt is both a search for his injuries, but also a psychological manhunt as she attempts to rediscover her husband
- ‘Widening’ creates a sense of urgency
- ‘Unexploded’ creates a suspenseful feeling of an inevitable explosion, where Eddie’s psychological trauma suddenly erupts in an emotional disruptive outbreak
- ‘Buried’ – double entendre – perhaps this metaphorical ‘mine’ of emotional trauma is hidden, and not immediately visible ; But also perhaps there has been an attempt to ‘bury’ or cover up this injury, potentially due to fear of stigma or misunderstanding
Every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
• Unnatural image of nerves ‘tightening’ and ‘closing’ imply a shutting down of the body = death / also perhaps a dissociation between brain and body - PTSD
‘Nerves’ convey impulses to and from the brain – here it is implied that the key pathways to communication with the soldier • Unnatural image of nerves ‘tightening’ and ‘closing’ imply a shutting down of the body = death / also perhaps a dissociation between brain and body - PTSD
• ‘Nerves’ convey impulses to and from the brain – here it is implied that the key pathways to communication with the soldier have been impeded/inhibited by his trauma, his limited capacity to fully communicate with the outside world
• Although the speaker has made progress, there is still some level of emotional distance between the couple
• Final slant rhyme of ‘closed’ and ‘close’ suggests that the search for her husband is not over, and this ‘manhunt’ is still ongoing – the healing process is a delicate and continuous journey
Context
- Armitage wrote ‘The Manhunt’ for the 2007 Channel 4 documentary ‘Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead’, which was about military service-people who have returned to civilian life, and the lingering, often lifelong effects of sustained exposure to violence.
- Often referred to as ‘Laura’s Poem’ – Laura = the wife of Eddie Beddoes, who was sent on a peace-keeping mission in the Balkans, during the Bosnian War
- Eddie was seriously injured and discharged from the army because of his physical and psychological injuries
- PTSD severely affected Eddie - experienced feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. Laura describes the year her first child was born as ‘turbulent’, as the sound of a crying child often brought about a violent reaction from her husband
Form and structure
- Poem is comprised of 13 couplets (unlucky?) – suggesting the consistency of the speaker’s (Laura’s) relationship with her husband // perhaps mimetic of the order and regimen of the military
- The poems attempt at organisation may be reflective of the lack of freedom of expression/fluidity on the part of the soldier
- However, uneven rhyme length, and lack of clear meter allude to an unsteadiness in the couple’s relationship; constantly navigating new hurdles
- Use of half-rhymes suggest unpredictability, mirroring Eddie’s mental state
• Couplet rhyme in first three stanzas suggest soldier appears to be responding well to physical treatment, yet the later breakdown of this rhyme scheme quickly dissolves this idea — theme of fragmentation: Laura only discovers the true extent of her husband’s trauma as time passes; faltering rhyme scheme mimetic of her realisation
Notes
Through his portrayal of the soldiers psychological trauma, armitage highlights the ways in which our society often neglects mental health by prioritising addressing physical and visible scars. He stresses the desperate need to improve our mental health provision for soldiers suffering with PTSD for whom the reintegration into civilian life is already incredibly challenging.
Through the turmoil of Eddie Beddoes, armitage places the construct of masculinity under scrutiny, stressing a viral need for validating an emotional outlet for men rather than the repression of feelings
Through the depiction of the relationship between the speaker and her partner, armitage rejects idealised notions of love and relationship instead suggesting that endurance resilience and commitment in the face of adversity that constitutes true love.
Speaker
Through the use of a female speaker, armitage reveals how widespread the effects of war can be, leaving indelible scars on relationships and families.
