War photographer Flashcards
Context:
Carol Ann duffy firends with war photographers Don McCullin and Philip Jones Griffiths
Form and Structure:
Form-ABBCDD rhyme scheme, which adds to the controlled, methodical tone. This calm and detached structure contrasts with the emotional weight of the subject matter
Written in third-person. This perspective reflects the photographer’s role as an observer of suffering rather than a direct participant.
Structure-Dramatic monologue gives an insight into gives hand experiences and thoughts of one individual
A half-formed ghost”
Metaphor: Refers to a developing image in the darkroom, but also suggests a literal ghost
“A hundred agonies in black-and-white”
Emotive metaphor to describe his photos. Having the pictures printed seems to confirm and solidify the suffering they show
“The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers”
Irony- The response of the reader contrasts with the deep trauma experienced by the photographer
Duffy highlights the apathy of the public, who quickly move on after seeing the images “tears rhyming with “beers”`
“of running children in a nightmare heat”
This line alludes to the famous image of of Nick Ut’s napalm girl photographed in 1972 in the Vietnam War.
“All flesh is grass”
comes from the biblical Isaiah 40:6
highlights the fragility of human life
“as though this was a church and he a priest preparing to intone a mass”
simile that reflects the seriousness aspect of the photographer’s task.
Themes
Conflicting emotions, Reality of conflict, Memory
Comparisons
Poppies
Remains
Bayonet charge
