The Manhunt Flashcards
Themes
- Love and Relationship
- Pain and Suffering
- Effects of war
Subject
- This poem is from the viewpoint of Laura, Eddie Bedoes wife
- he has physical scars from his war and the poem traces the path of the ricochet bullet
- It then explores his psychological “scars”, it transfers from physical to psychological
Title
The Manhunt has connotations of a military operation, hunting someone down which can relate to Laura trying to recover/find the Eddie Beddoes that she knew
Imagery
All of his body parts are described as broken
His body is broken down into objects suggesting that war dehumanises people
The imagery shows that he is suffering both physical and psychological scars and uses rather shocking imagery to show the extent of this - “foetus of metal” - he wanted to represent the shock
Language
Connotations of military repeated - showing the strength of the effect of his military life on him
The poem traces through the journey of the ricochet bullet - showing progression however it is slow and requires time - anaphora of “only then”
His body is broken down into objects suggesting that war dehumanises people
Language of exploring and finding shows how foreign he is and how much war has changed him
She tries to heal him
Tone
There is a rather cautious/ tentative but curious tone
It is clear that there is patience, she takes the whole poem to “come close” but it shows hope for the future
Love - she is sensitive and wants to help and understand
Pain - He is suffering both mentally and physically
Structure
5 sentences
1 - can trace the path and begins to see and touch it
2 - starts to heal him
3 - Finds the resting place of the bullet
4 - Find the real cause of his pain, his psychological issues
5 - Unresolved ending but shows the length of the journey and hope for the future
Near rhyming couplets that are “blown” apart. Showing his brokenness
It addresses his heart at the middle of the poem, “grazed heart”, this is a link and a transition between his physical pain to his emotional pain.
