The Manhunt, Simon Armitage Flashcards
“The Manhunt”
Define article suggests this manhunt is incredibly important.
‘Manhunt’ implies someone has been lost, finding or reclaiming someone.
“damaged, porcelain collar bone”
‘Parachute silk”
Body compared to fragile things - emphasises what war did to him.
Caesura used in “damaged, porcelain” indicates that there are barriers to the healing process.
“foetus of metal”
“Unexploded mine”
His PTSD is being compared to a baby.
Having a baby is a life changing experience so:
Armitage is expressing how severe the effects of war were on Eddie.
PTSD being compared to an “unexploded mine” gives a sense of danger and and unpredicatbility.
“only then, did i come close”
Half rhyme: closed and close suggests that the healing process is not yet complete.
Structure
The poem is organised into couplets.
Initially these couplets rhyme (“first phase… intimate days”), perhaps reflecting the couple’s harmony when they were first reunited.
However, as the poem
progresses the rhyme scheme falters, reflecting the increasingly disjointed nature of their relationship.
