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
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
