The Manhunt (A) Flashcards
What are the Big Ideas of ‘The Manhunt’
-Love and relationships
-War
-The passing of time
What is the context of ‘The Manhunt’
This poem is about a soldier who served in Bosnia as a peacekeeper in the 90’s. He did not expect to fight but was badly injured and discharged because of physical and mental injuries
What is the story of ‘The Manhunt’
The manhunt is written from the perspective of the WIFE of Eddie. The poem explores the physical and mental effects of war. She describes her husbands struggle to recover - mentally
Explain the structure of ‘The Manhunt’
The poem is made up of couplets- mostly unrhymed. This created a sense of fragmentation, which matched with the feelings of the wife and her feelings about what her husband has become
Explain the message of ‘The Manhunt’
That war affects your physical and mental health and how you see yourself, that war changes relationships between soldiers and their families, and that the consequences are far ranging, and not always obvious
Manhunt Quote;
‘After the first phase,
after passionate nights and intimate days’
-Gradual process and impermanence
-Initially physical love and passion
-This will change and is not emotional closeness
Manhunt Quote;
‘only then would he let me trace
the frozen river which ran through his face’
-‘Only then’ demonstrates the tiny stages
-‘Frozen river’ suggests he is unable to function properly after the war, and his recovery and emotions are frozen.
Manhunt Quote;
‘and finger and thumb
the parachute silk of his punctured lung’
-‘parachute silk’ reflects that he is physically strong but mentally fragile
Manhunt Quote;
‘and feel the hurt
of his grazed heart’
- The speaker is empathetic and trying to connect with her husband
- Trying to ‘feel’ his ‘hurt’ in order to help him
- ‘grazed heart’; literally the bullet came close to his heart, but war also had an effect on his emotions (Heart)
Manhunt Quote;
‘a sweating, unexploded mine
buried deep in his mind’
- The metaphor exposes that it is a mental, not physical problem
- The ‘mine’ also suggests danger, and could explode at any time
- The difficulty of recovery is shown by ‘buried deep in his mind’
Manhunt Quote;
‘Then, and only then, did I come close.’
- The final line emphasises again that it’s a long process
- Only when she realises that the pain is mental can she even start the process of reconnecting with her husband
- It is just the beginning as she begins to ‘come close’
