The Manhunt Flashcards
introduction
- The poem explores the emotional aftermath of war and its impact on personal relationships, particularly focusing on a partner or wife’s perspective as she tries to reconnect with her husband who has returned from conflict.
- Using intimate and tactile imagery, Armitage illustrates the physical and psychological scars left by war and the process of healing.
- The poem suggests that the effects of war extend far beyond the battlefield, deeply affecting those who must “hunt” for the person they once knew in the changed individual who has returned.
form
- first person
- monologue -> intimate
- 13 stanzas
use of enjambment
- phrases are longer
- suggests that the healing process is long and slow - stanzas 4, 5 and 6
- Armitage exposes the desperation in the speaker’s voice as they try to maintain control despite their urgent need to reconnect
heart of the poem
- draws attention to ‘heart’
- end-stopped line -> where the bullet stopped
- heart is in the centre of the body
rhyme-scheme
- first three stanzas are rhyming couplets -> indicative of the love/the couple
- first three stanzas are strong rhymes/full rhymes- the love that Laura and Eddie share and the strength of their relationship
- weakened rhyme scheme after that -> ‘hold’ and ‘bone’ have no rhyme -> weak consonance-> there is difficulty in the healing process -> difficulty in the relationship
- ‘hurt’ and ‘heart’ -> half-rhyme - could imply that as Laura begins to understand Eddie’s pain and trauma, their relationship strengthens again
- at the end -> half-rhyme - ‘close’ ‘closed’ -> suggests the healing process is not yet complete
caesurae
- ‘damaged, porcelain’
- disrupts the rhythm
- indicating there are barriers in the healing process and that it is not straight forward
‘let me’
- repetition
- Laura needs permission to look at and touch Eddie’s injuries, suggesting that there is tension in their relationship
finish the quote : ‘the…
…scan’
finish the quote: ‘the foetus..
..of metal’
‘the scan’
‘the foetus of metal’
- ‘foetus’ -> recovery position
- bullet/Eddie’s PTSD is compared to a baby
- having a baby is life-changing, suggestive of the life-changing effects of war on Eddie and Laura
- war has infantilised Eddie
finish the quote: ‘blown…
..hinge’
‘blown hinge’
- ‘hinge’ -> door -> lost part of his humanity in war
- ‘blown’ - the first clearly violent image in the poem -> the turning point
- suggests fragility, damage and pain
- emphasises how broken the experiences of war have left him
- this is in the third stanza not the first, Armitage alluding to the fact that Laura couldn’t see or comprehend the extent of Eddie’s wounds to begin with
finish the quote: ‘frozen..
..river’
‘frozen river’
- metaphor
- refers to his emotions - they are stuck in place as he battles with his PTSD
- symbolic of scars and wounds on Eddie’s body
finish the quote: ‘porcelain..
…collarbone’
finish the quote: ‘fractured..
..rudder of shoulder blade’
finish the quote: ‘parachute..
..silk of his punctured lung’
‘porcelain collarbone’
‘fractured rudder of shoulder blade’
‘parachute silk of his punctured lung’
- Eddie’s body is being compared to fragile things
- emphasises how broken his experiences of war have made him
finish the quote: ‘unexploded..
..mine’
‘unexploded mine’
- Eddie’s PTSD has been compared to an unexploded mine
- dangerous and unpredictable
finish the quote: ‘tightened…
..and closed’
‘tightened and closed’
- shut off from partner
- pushing her away
title
- ‘the manhunt’
- article ‘the’ suggests that this manhunt is incredibly important -> at least to the poem’s persona -> Laura Beddoes
- noun ‘manhunt’ implies that someone has been lost -> immediately establishes that this poem will be about reclaiming someone
finish the quote: ‘bind..
..the struts’
‘bind the struts’
- suggests she is putting Eddie back again, piece by piece, making him strong again
- Laura is repairing Eddie
‘trace’
‘frozen river’
‘explore’
‘rudder’
‘parachute’
‘climb the rungs’
‘widened the search’
- semantic field of searching
finish the quote: ‘skirting…
…along’
‘skirting along’
- casual, light in tone - normalises Eddie’s PTSD and is indicative of how used to it Laura is -> she is aware
- suggests that loving Eddie is easy for Laura and understanding his trauma isn’t a chore for her
- ‘skirting’ - going around something - precarious - walking on eggshells so as to not set off an episode within Eddie
finish the quote: ‘buried..
..deep in his mind’
finish the quote: ‘every nerve..
..in his body tightened and closed’
‘buried deep in his mind’
‘every nerve in his body tightened and closed’
- the PTSD is doing things to him which he can’t control
- he is helpless
- Eddie’s PTSD is hidden, yet all consuming
- the impact is both physical and mental
finish the quote: ‘sweating..
..unexploded mine’
‘sweating’
- malapropic
- could relate to feelings of anxiety and stress
- PTSD
finish the quote: ‘handle..
..and hold’
finish the quote: ‘mind..
..and attend’
finish the quote: ‘finger…
…and thumb’
‘handle and hold’
‘mind and attend’
‘finger and thumb’
- double verb constructs
- sense of care
- semantic field of care
- delicate, soft and gentle actions
finish the quote: ‘grazed..
..heart’
‘grazed heart’
- bullet grazed past his heart but also left emotional grazes behind
- Armitage juxtaposes military language with sensory language to show links between injury and trauma: his heart is “grazed”; the speaker can “feel the hurt”; the man’s mind is a metaphorical “unexploded mine”, implying his repressed trauma
finish the quote: ‘passionate nights..
..and intimate days’
‘passionate nights and intimate days’
- strong and loving relationship
- ‘night’ and ‘day’ -> their love is relentless
finish the quote: ‘after the..
…first phase’
‘after the first phase’
- ‘after’ - their loving reunion is short-lived
- some disruption lies ahead
mood and tone
- loving and caring - Laura ‘bind[s] the struts’ of Eddie’s body - putting him back together as he suffers from PTSD
- hopeful tone -> half-rhyme at the end suggests Eddie is on the road to recovery
- OR could be representative of Eddie and Laura’s relationship improving but they still have some way to go
key quotations for the theme of war
“the foetus of metal beneath his chest”
“only then would he let me trace/
the frozen river which ran through his face,”
“to a sweating, unexploded mine/
buried deep in his mind …”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR WAR
“the foetus of metal beneath his chest”
“only then would he let me trace/
the frozen river which ran through his face,”
“to a sweating, unexploded mine/
buried deep in his mind …”
By describing the bullet as a “foetus of metal”, Armitage’s metaphor implies the soldier’s vulnerability, but also that something unnatural and painful is growing inside of him because of his combat experiences
The enjambment alludes to the continuous nature of the healing process and the speaker’s determination to “trace” the soldier’s pain
The alliteration, assonance and half-rhyme of “mine” and “mind” reflect how tightly bound the soldier’s mental trauma is to his experiences in war. This connection between the soldier’s mind and his suffering is compounded by the word “unexploded”, which implies repressed trauma (a metaphorical mine)
key quotations for love and relationships
“After the first phase,/after passionate nights and intimate days.”
“Then only then would he let me touch/the hurt of his grazed heart”
“only then would he let me trace/the frozen river which ran through his face,”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS
“After the first phase,/after passionate nights and intimate days.”
“Then only then would he let me touch/the hurt of his grazed heart”
“only then would he let me trace/the frozen river which ran through his face,”
The poem opens with a couplet, establishing a rhythmic structure that mimics the initial harmony in the couple’s relationship. The line break after “phase” signals a shift, foreshadowing the changes to come, though the couplet structure symbolically remains
The repetition of “then” conveys the time and patience required to rebuild trust and intimacy. The phrase “let me touch” reveals a vulnerability and indicates a physical and emotional barrier, showing how war has changed the couple’s intimacy. The phrase “grazed heart” implies a painful wound but also indicates hope for future healing
Armitage uses enjambment to create a sense of gradual revelation, mirroring the slow process of understanding the soldier’s trauma. The metaphor “frozen river” alludes to an emotional coldness or numbness, as well as describing his scar
key quotations for communication
“the blown hinge of his lower jaw”
“the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR COMMUNICATION
“the blown hinge of his lower jaw”
“the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade”
The metaphor implies both physical damage and difficulty in speaking or expressing emotions. The fragmented structure of the poem, with its short, often incomplete lines, also reflects the broken nature of their communication and the necessity for healing
The speaker metaphorically compares the soldier’s shoulder blade to a fractured rudder of a ship, which suggests that his injuries have impaired his ability to navigate physically and emotionally through his relationship and perhaps life. The verb “fractured” connotes damage but also implies that healing is possible
