War Photographer Flashcards
Who wrote war photographer and when
Carol Ann Duffy in 1985
Summary of war photographer
The poem follows the journey of a man who returns from a war-torn land to develop his photographs. The pictures remind him of his experiences and the atrocities which are happening abroad
Context of war photographer
-it is a critique of our era in which 24-hour news cycles and social media, graphic images of war and suffering are readily available. However, instead of provoking action, these images often become part of the background noise of daily life.
-She was especially intrigued by the peculiar challenge faced by these people whose job requires them to record terrible, horrific events without being able to directly help their subjects. These photographers often faced the moral question of whether taking photographs was an act of witnessing or exploitation.
Structure and form of war photographer
-written in third person despite it being emotionally fraught moment, this reflects the feelings of detachment with photographer experiences at the scene of conflict
-cyclical structure, creates sense of futile repetition, it is a continuous cycle of documenting violence, returning home, and being met with apathy.
-structure mimics ‘ordered rows ‘ The poet’s use of a consistent form emphasizes this necessity for control, while also highlighting the internal conflict between duty and personal morality. however irregular enjambement and caesura shows the chaos that lies beneath the surface, enjambement is used to reflect the photographer’s thoughts bleeding into one another as he processes both his work and his emotions. This contrasts with his previous composure in the field, emphasizing how the darkroom allows suppressed emotions to surface.
Key quotes of war photographer
-‘The readers eye balls prick with tears between the bath and pre lunch beers’
-‘Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows’
-“As though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass”
-“A strangers features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half formed ghost.”
Analyse quote ‘as though this were a church and a he priest preparing to intone a mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phenom Penh. All flesh is grass ‘
-This religious analogy elevates the act of developing photographs to a spiritual or moral responsibility, highlighting the weight of his duty in documenting. Just as a priest dedicates his life to faith and serves as an intermediary between the divine and the congregation, the photographer acts as a conduit between the suffering he witnesses and the wider world. However, much like religious sermons that may not always prompt change in believers, the photographer’s images may evoke temporary emotion but fail to lead to lasting action.
-The cities mentioned—Belfast, Beirut, Phnom Penh—are presented in a stark, isolated list. This technique reflects the widespread nature of violence and war across different regions. By listing them creates a sense of abruptness and accumulation, mirroring the relentless cycle of war and destruction. The inclusion of these specific locations contextualizes the photographer’s experiences, indicating that his work spans global atrocities, reinforcing the universal and pervasive nature of human suffering.
-the line “all flesh is grass” is a direct biblical allusion which highlights the fleeting nature of human life, drawing a parallel between the fragility of existence and the devastation caused by war. The biblical reference adds a sense of inevitability, as if death and suffering are an inescapable part of human history. Furthermore, it conveys the idea that, just as grass withers and dies, so too do human lives, The phrase reinforces the insignificance of individual lives when set against the vastness of global conflict, aligning with the poem’s overall theme of desensitization and the impermanence of human suffering in the eyes of the wider world.
Analyse quote ‘spools of suffering set out of in ordered rows’
-sibilance, The orderly arrangement of the spools suggests a methodical, almost ritualistic process, as though the photographer is attempting to impose control over the uncontrollable horrors of war.
-The phrase also suggests the way in which war is often presented to the public in a sanitised, structured manner. News images and reports distill complex human tragedies into digestible fragments, much like how the spools are systematically developed and selected for publication. This raises questions about the ethics of war photography
-ordered rows could relate to graves
-The word ‘spools’ refers to the rolls of film used in traditional photography, but by coupling it with ‘suffering’, Duffy transforms these objects into carriers of pain and trauma. The word ‘spools’ also evokes the idea of unraveling, implying that beneath the ordered rows lies a deeper, uncontrollable horror that cannot be contained by the photographer’s structured environment.
-The phrase also evokes imagery of graves or coffins arranged in neat lines, reinforcing themes of death and loss. Just as the spools are systematically placed, so too are the graves of fallen soldiers, highlighting the mass casualties of war and the somber reality of its consequences
Analyse quote ‘the readers eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre lunch beers’
-the clinical and impersonal reference to ‘eyeballs’ instead of ‘eyes’ reinforces emotional detachment. By depersonalizing the reader, Duffy implies that their reaction is mechanical, a reflex rather than genuine empathy.
-The use of ‘prick’ conveys a brief, superficial, almost involuntary sensation rather than deep sorrow, emphasizing how quickly their sympathy fades. This is deeply ironic, as the immense suffering captured by the war photographer is reduced to a passing moment of discomfort, rather than inspiring lasting reflection or action.
-the act of crying is squeezed in between the mundane, they can just carry on with there day, it juxtaposes with the “eyeballs prick” as it underlines the hypocrisy of the reader’s brief emotional response: their tears are meaningless when immediately followed by a return to trivial pleasures.
-This reflects a broader societal problem—while wars continue to devastate lives across the world, those in peaceful, privileged societies view them as distant tragedies, easily ignored.
“A strangers features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half formed ghost”
-the use of the word ‘ghost’ may symbolize the photographer’s lingering guilt and emotional detachment. He records suffering but cannot intervene, leaving him haunted by the images he captures. This line encapsulates the paradox of war photography: it preserves a moment of horror, yet those who see the images may never truly grasp the depth of the suffering.
-The word ‘faintly’ suggests the slow emergence of the image, mirroring the tentative process of memory and recognition. However, ‘twist’ introduces a sense of pain, suffering, or even death, implying that the subject of the photograph may have died in agony. The ambiguity of ‘twist’ also reflects the war photographer’s own inner turmoil, as he struggles to process the horrors he has documented.
