War Photographer Flashcards
The reassurance of the frame is flexible
you can think that
Personification of the frame connotes to confinement, limitation and restriction.
Fricative alliteration mimics the sound of the camera shutter, reflecting the concept of photography
Juxtaposition between frame and flexible ridicules the idea that people believe only what they are shown within the frame, imploring people to look beyond and consider what may be further out
Reassurance implying a sense of naivety and passivity
I seek out the tragic, the absurd to make a subject
Tragic and absurd have connotations of being cast out and dehumanised to just a subject
I seek - Distortion of reality as viewing these tragedies as simply a job, something to actively look for
the firmness of the edges can convince you
this is how things are
Irony of protecting the viewers (direct address) from reality through “convincing” having connotations of coercion
Metaphorical sensory imagery of firmness of an edge highlighting how the frame is limiting the photographer’s ability to show the truth
Declarative of this is how things are mimics the effect of the photo
as when at Ascot once
Temporal marker of “as when” showing this is a direct account
Setting of Ascot immediately showing financial privilege, as this is where the British royal family watch horse-racing, an activity associated with a high socioeconomic status
peach, sun-gilded girls
Gustatory imagery associated with upper-class foreign luxury as peach isn’t native to England
sun-gilded connotes to youth, immaturity, naiivety, highlighting their privileges
rolling, silk-crumpled, on the grass
Silk connotes to opulence, decadence, and luxury
Rolling is an active verb, connoting to joy, jubilance and privilege
Highlights how they live in luxury and have the privilege of living in ignorance of the next stanza all due to chance
in champagne giggles
Girls (youth) engaging in adult activities of drinking as a luxury contrasts how the girl is engaging in adult responsibilities of a baby
Direct parallel creates uncomfortable imagery for readers to be more aware of their ignorance
A small girl… hip thrust out under a baby’s weight
The girl mirrors those at Ascot
Trapped in adult responsibility of a baby reiterating the social injustices that socioeconomic disparities create, provoking sympathy from audiences
Girl without a mother implies some sort of either sexual violation of the girl to end up in the situation, or the death of another mother and the girl feeling responsible for the child and taking care of it
Instinct prevailing, she dropped her burden
Instinct has animalistic connotations of highlighting their true priority
Dropping the burden shows a disregard for the baby’s fate, and self-preservation overtaking her care for the child.
mouth too small for her dark scream,
began to run…
Contrasts her almost-smile to the scream
“too small” acting as a euphemism for her age, as if the scream represents the struggles that the girl faces that someone so young and developmental shouldn’t be exposed to
Synesthetic imagery of a dark scream + auditory scream creates unsettling, provoking imagery for readers that challenges their perception of those stuck in situations of war by giving these victims a name and face
Ellipsis pays regard to neither the photographer nor the viewers knowing the fate of the girl, leaving the stanza on a morbid, sinister note.
‘Even in hell, the human spirit
triumphs over all’
Quotation marks mirror the frame being discussed earlier, creating a cyclical structure to contrast from the violent, virulent intensity of action in the previous stanza, which highlights the twisted falseness of the caption not painting the actual situation
Criticises the deceptive nature of the media through reaffirming the limitations of the frame, imploring readers to question what is reported to them.
But hell, like heaven, is untidy,
its boundaries
arbitrary as a blood stain on a wall.
Deceptive extended metaphor, arbitrary highlighting the futility and random, meaningless nature of war, the ignorance of people who choose to ignore this, living in echo chambers of luxury.
Religious imagery creates distance between the two concepts, as it is difficult to reconcile the all-giving love of a benevolent God with such clear-cut categories as Heaven and Hell, and the violence of the situation being given.
Stanza length
Quatrains create a false sense of security, mirroring the speaker’s point about the comfort of a frame, highlighting the sense of devastation and despair in the final stanza breaking this.
