The Manhunt Flashcards
Poet
Simon Armitage
Structure/Form
The poem is made up of a series of couplets, mostly unrhymed. This creates a sense of fragmentation, which matches the feelings of the soldier’s wife as she seeks to understand the man her husband has become.
The poem describes the phases of a wife’s search for answers from her injured husband who has recently returned from a war zone. The poem ends when the search is brought to a close.
The frozen river which ran through his face
Metaphorical language used here to described the physical scarring of war on the soldier’s face. Alternatively ‘frozen river’ could also suggest that the tears he has shed have ‘frozen’ and are eternally with him. The preposition ‘through’ highlights the internal damage of war, not just physical.
The blown hinge of his lower jaw
The adjective ‘blown’ has connotations of war, bombs and destruction. The noun ‘hinge’ relates to linking things together, highlighting that part of him is unable to function following his part in war.
After passionate nights and intimate days
Semantic field is created here of love and romance in the adjectives ‘passionate’ and ‘intimate’, juxtaposing their relationship with the horrors of war. The word ‘after’ is dependant – their relationship is dependent on something and seems incomplete.
Only then, did i come close
The phrase ‘only then’ again is dependent on something – their relationship is not as it once was. ‘come close’ refers to her ongoing search to find his identity and to find who he once was before his experience with war.
Only then would he let me trace
anaphora is used again in ‘only then’ which suggests that his identity has changed from what she knew before he went to war. The imperative phrase ‘let me’ shows that he has control and is only willing to let her ‘in’ when he feels ready. His identity has been damaged through war.
Every nerve in his body had tightened and closed
The determiner ‘every’ shows that it is his whole identity that has been affected by the horrors of war. The noun ‘nerve’ connotes necessity and is fundamental in the workings of the body. These are ‘tightened and closed’ which have connotations of no warmth or love. His new identity is much colder than before. Perhaps a result of post-traumatic stress from war?
Context
This poem belongs to the collection called ‘The Not Dead’, which explores how soldiers and their families are affected by war and conflict. It is about a soldier who served in Bosnia as a peace keeper in the 1990s. He did not expect that he would be fighting on the mission but he was badly injured and discharged from the army because of his physical and psychological injuries.
