The Manhunt - analysis Flashcards
‘Manhunt’
- title puns on idea of ‘manhunt’ meaning a hunt to capture a man, often a criminal
- wife searches for the husband she knew so well but who seems lost to her metaphorically, after his experiences of war
‘intimate days’
- the loving, sensual language throughout may reflect the intimately of husband + wife. a keen devotion from wife keen to heal him
- poem written from perspective of wife who is trying to understand mental + physical effects of war
‘trace’ ‘explore’ ‘handle and hold’
- verbs reflect the activities of the wife as she conducts her search, suggesting careful treatment of her husbands injured body + mind. it may also imply that he is no longer familiar to her
‘frozen river’
a metaphor for the flow of loving feelings which have now become hardened like ice. it could also refer literally to a scar from an injury. in addition, it could represent the husband’s sadness: how his fears are unable to flow
‘the blown hinge of his lower jaw’
use of metaphor suggests the jaw is physically + metaphorically broken. this may suggest he is no longer open with her, perhaps unable to talk about feelings + experiences
‘damaged, porcelain collar-bone’
metaphor portrays how delicate + fragile her husband is + needs to be handled with care. ‘porcelain’ is hard but chips easily, cold to touch. this is a reminder of ‘frozen river which ran through his face’
‘mind and attend’
related to medical attention, suggesting his wife attempting to heal him
‘fractured raider of shoulder-blade’
suggests he can’t ‘steer’ himself. has to guide him
‘parachute silk of his punctured lung’
parachute used in military (broken=useless) which reflects how man feels about himself
‘climb the rungs of his broken ribs’
creates image of ladder + closely observed detail of her hands exploring the altered body of husband. it is reflective of her effort to find answers + gradual coming to terms with her husband’s state of mind
‘grazed heart’ ‘metal beneath his chest’
literally from injury caused he is unable to connect with his wife. unwilling to speak of experiences so loving relationship affected
‘skirting’
mood is lighter, she feels she is achieving something. she is moving alongside him + nothing deeper
‘foetus of metal beneath his chest’
image of metal bullet still inside him as a ‘foetus’ suggests like having a baby, couple’s relationship forever changed by what he has gone through. also suggests the foetus feeds off him + takes energy. reinforcing the idea his injuries are life-changing
‘bullet had finally come to rest’
permanent damage
‘widened the search’
refers to the title of poem relating to police sent. she has now metaphorically ‘widened the search’. in her attempt to find source of physical and emotional distress
‘i picture the scan’
she comes to terms with the bullet that has damaged his chest, close to his heart: implies damage to emotions
‘traced the scarring back to its source’
the ‘source’ of the scarring is not the physical wounds that the poet has previously described, but the ‘unexplored mine buried deep inside his mind’ which is referred to in next stanza
‘sweating, un exploded mine buried deep inside his mind’
metaphor implies the source of the problem is not physical but mental + threatens to cause problems at any time. perhaps the wife is trying to diffuse him. the importance of the wife’s care + delicacy is highlighted by her discovery of this problem, she must tread carefully as to not trigger PTSD
‘only then, did i come close’
‘only then’ repeated 4x throughout poem. repetition. perhaps suggests that it is a slow process to get him to open
final line of poem emphasises the impact that war has on relationships. her search isn’t fully successful, she only comes close + only after she realises that her husband’s problem lies as much in memories of his experiences as they do in physical scars
