War Photographer Flashcards
Who wrote war photographer
Carol Ann Duffy
Theme of inner conflict
The photographer undergoes horrific violence and sees real horror in order to do his job, yet when he returns home these things are reduced to novelty
There is a conflict between where he is from and what he does which numbs him, as those two sides of his identity cannot be at peace
Context
Poem is written about a war photographer who has returned home and is developing his photos. As he is developing them a sinister atmosphere is created by the red light, surrounding by hanging photos and chemical smells.
Poem looks at contrast between war zones and the safety of behind back home and the way people do not understand the truth
Structure
Written in four stanzas
Rhyming couplets interspaced with non rhyming lines
Regular structure could represent the order he is giving to the chaos in his photos
Rhyming couplets
Bitterness and regret is converted in key rhyming couplets and sections to highlight his difficultly dealing with the experiences
“In his dark room he is finally alone”
Finally, suggests he is constantly haunted by his experiences, this allows him an escape
“Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
The sibilants emphasises the dark nature of the photos and their content
Ordered rows- creating order amongst the chaos
“The only light is red and softly glows”
Connotations with blood and violence
“All flesh is grass”
Metaphor emphasises the scale of death and fragility of life, suggests that this life is as meaningless to people at home as mowing the lawn
“Which did not tremble then though seem to now”
Psychological effects of war
Irony as he had a steady hand taking the photos, in danger, but now at home in safety he trembles.
Hints at possible suffering of PTSD
“Something is happening”
Caesura, changes tone and builds tension
“A strangers features faintly start to twist before his eyes,”
Double meaning, the photo itself is taking form, however the subject themselves may have been in pain, twisting
“A half formed ghost”
Metaphor shows the still faint origins of the photo but also implies that the subject may well now be dead
“Blood stained into foreign dust”
Adjective foreign emphasises the fact it is far away, can be read bitterly, as though why should the fact it is foreign make a difference
“From the aeroplane he states impassively”
Impassive means without emotion, he feels numb/helpless
