the manhunt Flashcards
who was it written by and some brief life info?
Simon Armitage
He was born, and still lives, in West Yorkshire. His poetry displays a concern for social issues and draws on his Yorkshire roots.
He worked as a probation officer.
what is the form and structure like?
The poem is made up of a series of couplets. Some are rhymed, some half rhymed and others unrhymed.
This creates a sense of fragmentation which matches the feelings of the soldier’s wife as she tries to understand the man her husband has become.
The poem describes the phases of a wife’s search for answers from her injured.
what are the key themes?
The poem has another title: ‘Laura’s Poem: The Manhunt’.
It was written for a Channel 4 documentary which examined the lives of soldiers and their families.
In the documentary the poem is read by Laura, whose husband Eddie Eddoes was a soldier who served in Bosnia. He was discharged due to injury and depression.
It is a poem that explores both love and war.
what is the historical and literary context?
Historical Context: The poem has another title - ‘Laura’s Poem: The Manhunt’. ]
It was written for a Channel 4 documentary called ‘Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead’ , which examined the lives of soldiers and their families. In the programme, the poem is read by Laura, wife of Eddie Eddoes, a soldier who served in Bosnia and who was discharged due to injury and depression.
Literary Context: Influenced by the work of Ted Hughes, W.H. Auden and Philip Larkin. One reviewer observed that “Armitage is an updated version of Wordsworth’s ‘man talking to men’”. A regional poet proud of his northern heritage.
In preparation for his collection of poems Armitage interviewed veteran soldiers of different wars. He could be considered as another poet who gives voice to the voiceless.
quote 1: After the first phase/ after passionate nights and intimate days’ what could you say about this?
adjectives suggest they had a loving, sexual relationship. The enjambment mirrors the harmony in their relationship.
quote 2: ‘Only then would he let me trace/ the frozen river which ran through his face’ what could you say about this?
metaphor for a scar. He is both physically and emotionally ‘frozen’ due to the horrors of war
quote 3: ‘And handle and hold/ the damaged, porcelain collar bone’ what could you say about this?
The soft alliterative verbs illustrate the wife’s care. The image of porcelain symbolises how fragile he is both mentally and physically.
quote 4: ‘Only then could I bind the struts/ and climb the rungs of his broken ribs’ what could you say about this?
‘Only then’ is repeated throughout, suggests that the process of understanding is step by the step.Verb ‘climb’ implies she has to work and struggle to help him.
quote 5: The foetus of bullet beneath his chest/ where the bullet had finally come to rest’ what could you say about this?
could be seen as an emasculating image, may mirror how he sees himself. The pregnancy metaphor suggests his injuries are now a part of him.
quote 6: ‘To a sweating, unexploded mine/ buried deep in his mind’ what could you say about this?
war imagery, the mine is a metaphor for his PTSD. It is deep within him and can go off at any time.
