manhunt by simon armitage Flashcards
summary of the poem
-written in the first person from the perspective of the soldiers wife
-the title is a metaphor for lauras search for a husband she knew
what is in the first 6 verses
the speaker describes how after a time of intimacy; she begins to try and find her husband again by tracing both is physical injuries and healing his psychological ones
what is in the verses 7-8
she describes trying to understand and heal his injuries
what is in the versus 9-10
she begins to imagine what he went through and his psychological trauma
versus 11-13
attempts to reach his source of pain to heal him,but he seems cut off from her and she only comes close
the poems voice
first person narrative from the point of laura ,making it seems more emotive and moving
the poems form
unrhymed couplets-these convey the slow progress of the wifes search for the man she married as well as the fragmented nature of her thoughts
the poems structure
repeated enjambment-the lines run into one another to create the impression of a slow,continuous search
context
-bosnian war
-simon armitage who frequently uses colloquial language and autobiographical material
key themes
death,morality,suffering,love and relationships
key quote of ‘the frozen river which ran through his face’
A metaphor that represents both the literal scar,but also the manner in which his emotions have become trapped
‘a sweating, unexploded mine/buried deep in his mind’
the metaphor conveys the way in which the mine seems fused to the man; it symbolises the pyschological trauma and the danger that he may explode at any moment , so the wife needs to disarm it
‘then,and only then, did I come close’
an ambiquous conclusion that marks the final anaphoric repetition of ‘only then’. However, it is an anti-climax as the wife is not completely successful in healing her husband as also suggested by her half rhyme in the final 2 lines
