poetry - war photographer Flashcards
“spools of suffering”
the metaphor links the content of the photographic images in the spools to the subjects of the photographs to highlight the awareness of the on-going, cynical misery endured by the subjects
“spools … ordered rows”
the image compared the meticulous arrangement of the spools to the graves in a (war) cemetery to highlight the scale of deaths witness and the violent nature of the deaths
“dark room” “church”
image of the dark room with its red light as a church compares the interior lighting within the darkroom to that of a church to highlight the gloomy, funereal atmosphere of the darkroom
“red”
word choice of red suggests the danger of the war zone or blood which represents the horror of the war zone
“a priest… intone a Mass”
the image of the photographer as a priest suggests a similarity between the role of the photographer and the priest in terms of the seriousness of the processes they are involved in/ the importance of their roles in spreading the word
“all flesh is grass”
the image compares human life to short lived “grass” to highlight the transient nature of human life
“Rural England”
word choice suggests the idealised view of england as predominantly countryside which is leafy, peaceful, natural and wholesome
“ordinary pain”
the juxtaposition suggests how trivial and unimportant the problems faced in britain are compared to those in war zones
“simple weather” and “dispel”
the word choice suggests how shallow / easily addresses the problems faced in britain are
“explode”
word choice suggests the unpredictability and danger of life in the war zone
“nightmare heat”
word choice suggests extreme climactic conditions endured with suggestion of oppressive or threatening atmosphere
“rural England” “fields” “running children”
extended contrast drawn between england’s stereotypical features and how it is contrasted with reality of life in the warzone - “exploded” and “nightmare heat”
“hand, which did not tremble then”
word choice emphasises contrast between his ability to cope with the job at the time and the impact on him now as he reflects on it
“twist”
word choice suggests the subject’s body distorted by pain/injury; writhing in agony
“half-formed ghost”
word choice suggests memories of death and being haunted by the memories
