War Photographer

Question 1

.Form + structure

Answer 1

Duffy uses tight form of six lines per stanza as well as a constant ABBCDD rhyme scheme, reflects order of “rural England” and is at odds with the chaos caused by conflict, shows war photographers lack the power to change anything as his work falls upon an unreceptive audience. Structure also reflects how photographer places his photos into “ordered rows” - sombre, careful ritual a way to maintain a sense of normality which threatens to overwhelm him(his hands “tremble”)
Cyclucal structure - photographer returns to warzone he came from on “the aeroplane”: futile repetition, photographer’s work has not changed anything

Question 2

Language

Answer 2

Photographer struggles with reconciling his life in “rural England”, only capable of viewing this through the comparative lens of conflict as he notices there is no “nightmare heat.”

Question 3

Response to conflict

Answer 3

Sibilant alliteration “solutions slop in trays”- he tries to offer solutions to the conflicts he witnesses by raising public awareness
of the,
Role allows him to preserve memory of those who’ve died, reflected in the paradoxical metaphor “half formed ghost”- unexpected reality beneath appearance, bafflement
Juxtaposition through poem between lexis from the semantic field of violence(Auditory imagery of “he remembers the cries of his man’s wife”) and religipus imagery(photographer compared to “a priest preparing to impart mass”, reminders listener of Christian value of peace): implies people are hypocritical as in theory they’re against violence, but do nothing to stop it when it’s actually occurring

Question 4

Suffering

Answer 4

Duffy’s use of sibilance in “spools of suffering” creates impression of true nature of war being hushed so people can continue with their everyday lives
Photographer has to “pick out five or six” photos, showing how the public only want to see a few photos before the reality of the situation is too horrifying to continue viewing

Question 5

Inpact on civilians

Answer 5

In his darkroom, violent connotations of colour imagery in “red and softly glows” show even in the solace of his darkroom, the photographer’s not safe from the horrors hwe’s witnessed.

Question 6

Extensive scale of conflict

Answer 6

Plosives in “Belfast. beirut. Phnom Penh” create an aggressive sound, highlighting the way war impacts so many people.