'the manhunt' - simon armitage

Question 1

describe the context of ‘the manhunt’:

Answer 1

• written from the point of view of a soldier’s wife.
• her husband had acted as a peacekeeper in the 1990s.
• poem was written for ‘The Not Dead’, a documentary about the mental and physical impacts of war on soldiers returning home.
• Armitage wanted to commemorate the sacrifices war veterans had made, and highlight the devastations war can have on soldiers, even if it doesn’t claim their lives.

wife - Laura Beddoes - trying to help her husband - Eddie Beddoes - deal with the PTSD he suffers from. he’s weak both mentally and physically, and their relationship suffers as a result.

Question 2

analyse the title, ‘The Manhunt’:

Answer 2

• ‘the’ is a definite article. suggests the ‘manhunt’ is incredibly important, at least to the speaker.
• ‘manhunt’ (a noun) implies that someone has been lost. establishes the poem will be about finding/reclaiming someone.

Question 3

analyse the portrayal of relationships in the poem:

Answer 3

GOOD:
- ‘after passionate and intimate nights.’ suggests strong, loving relationship. contrasts to title, which connotes violence, stress, pressure.
- each stanza is a strong, rhyming couplet, common in love sonnets.
- ‘mind and attend’, ‘handle and hold’, soft sounds (‘f’, ‘m’, ‘h’), nurturing, caring connotations. ‘skirting’ is a light/casual tone. understanding and caring for her husband is not a chore because of how much she loves him.

BAD:
- repetition of ‘let me’ implies permission, suggests tension in the relationship.
- rhyme scheme weakened - ‘hold and bone’ have no rhyme, for example. suggests difficulty in healing process and in relationship. strengthened again.

Question 4

analyse the portrayal of the healing process in the poem:

Answer 4

• ‘frozen river’ is symbolic of his scars and wounds due to the war, but also his struggle to show his emotions due to his PTSD. rivers flow, he’s unable to continue with his life if it’s frozen.
• enjambment (hold/this) suggests slow and long healing process. caesura (damaged, porcelain) indicates barriers to healing process. more wounds are revealed in the consecutive stanzas, undermining wife’s attempts to understand her husband, her ‘manhunt’ seems futile.
• sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind.’ ‘sweating’ is an odd word choice - relates to stress/anxiety due to PTSD. mines create a sense of pressure, unnecessary anticipation - he is dangerous, unpredictable, wife feels on edge. ‘buried’ suggests it’s hidden, but it’s still all-consuming.

Question 5

what do the quotes ‘damaged, porcelain collar bone’ and ‘fractured rudder of shoulder blade’ suggest about the soldier?

Answer 5

dehumanises the soldier, makes him seem as if he’s no longer a man, just a collection of broken things. his physical trauma and war has stripped him of some of his humanity.

the idea that his ‘rudder’ is broken suggests that he will struggle to find his path in life, he’s lost his sense of direction. the idea that it’s ‘fractured’, however, suggests it isn’t beyond repair.

Question 6

what is the effect of ‘foetus of metal’?

Answer 6

• foetus can be positive: new life, hope, regeneration.
• foetus’s also grow - the mental trauma he’s experienced has implanted itself in him - it’s now part of him - and will continue to grow and consume him.

Question 7

what is the mood in ‘the manhunt’?

Answer 7

• loving and caring tone, Laura ‘binds the struts’ of Eddie’s body, putting him back together as he suffers from his PTSD.
• half rhyme ‘closed/close’ ends the poem on a hopeful tone, as it suggests Eddie is on the road to recovery.

Question 8

what are the themes in ‘the manhunt’?

Answer 8

• power: eddie is powerless to the PTSD.
• love
• war
• man: surviving soldiers.