The Manhunt - Simon Armitage Flashcards
PTSD in veterans - Manhunt
“Sweating, unexploded mine” - shows he is unpredictable and potentially violent. Waiting to explode. This is the source of his pain.
“Every nerve” “had tightened and closed” - he can’t let go of this trauma
Caring wife - Manhunt
“mind and attend”
“handle and hold”
- she loves him despite his flaws and she dotes on him
“finger and thumb” shows she is careful and mindful and wants him to feel safe
Humanises soldiers - Manhunt
“parachute silk” “porcelain collar bone”
- fragile/delicate and misunderstood
“fractured rudder” - rudder is used to steer so shows he has lost direction in his life - effects of war
- people who are seemingly strong are reduced to these delicate, fragile shells of their former selves
Violent syntax - Manhunt
“punctured” “blown hinge” - contrasted with his fragile body. War is violent and has affected him violently too.
Rediscovery of loved ones after they have changed - Manhunt
“then, and only then, did i come close” - a journey of discovery after they have been permanently changed
Developing relationship - Manhunt
“passionate nights and intimate days” “trace” “explore”
- intimate and personal
Indentation of lines - Manhunt
“and feel the hurt of his grazed heart”
- draws attention to it as the heart of the poem. lack of rhyming couplet breaks up the poem, making it seem disjointed - shows how he is seemingly okay but when you delve deeper he isnt
care is consistent - Manhunt
rhyming couplets “explore” and “jaw” shows her care is regular and attentive
anaphora of “only then”
Context - Manhunt
- Written about Eddie Beddoes and his wife
- Beddoes fought in the Bosnian war
- Published 2008 to highlight how unfairly veterans are treated in the UK
