War Photographer Flashcards
S1
“In his darkroom he is finally alone”
- ‘Darkroom’ connotes a serious, brooding, bleak place.
- Metaphor just as the room where the photos are developed has no light, so too is the photographer in a ‘dark’ state of mind
- He is disturbed by what he has seen.
S1
“He is finally alone”
- ‘alone’ connotates isolation/ solitude.
- The word finally suggests the photographer has been seeking solcace/ trying to escape his memories
S1
“Spools of suffering set”
- Metaphor- just as a spool of film unwinds into a long strip, so too does the pain the photographer has witnessed seem never-ending.
- Sibilance reflects the idea that the photographer is trying to create order – he is trying to make sense of the chaos of war. Soft ‘S’ sound reflects quiet/ serious atmosphere
S1
“In ordered rows”
Perhaps reminds us of tombstones
S1
“The only light is red and softly glows”
- ‘only’ connotes solitude/ isolation
- ‘red’ connotes violence/ death
- ‘softly glows’ creates a calm/ peaceful setting – a place where the war photographer can reflect on his experience
S1
“As though this were a church”
Meetaphor. Just as a church is a sombre, reflective, serious place, so too is the darkroom somewhere where serious work takes place and where the photographer can reflect on the suffering he has seen.
S1
“He a priest preparing to intone a Mass”
Comparison to priest continues religious imagery – Just as a priest spreads the word of god, so too does the photographer do serious, life changing work – spreading the word about places of conflict.
S1
“Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh”
- Lists places of conflict – suggesting more.
- Short abrupt sentences contrast the longer flowing lines that come before, disrupting the peaceful atmosphere and reflecting the harshness of war.
- Alliteration adds to this effect.
S1
“All flesh is grass”
- Biblical quotation - imagery, continuing religious imagery.
- Just as grass has a short life/ is meaningless, so too does human life seem fragile/ brief/ meaningless in places of conflict.
S2
“He has a job to do”
- Short blunt statement reinforces the detached nature with which the photographer has to approach his job.
- Also suggests the important nature of his work – it ‘has’ to be done.
S2
“Solutions slop in trays”
- Literally the liquid photos are developed in.
- Metaphor/ Double meaning – this also refers to the solution/ problem of war.
- Just as ‘slop’ suggests something messy, so too are the solutions/ resolutions to conflicts messy/ difficult.
S2
“Hands, which did not remble then though seem to now”
Enjambment emphasises contrast between being in a place of conflict taking photos where his hands need to be steady, and being at home, where he is able to reflect and begin to experience the emotional impact of what he has seen – stress/ horror Etc.
S2
“Rural England. Home again”
- ‘Rural’ – connotes peace, calm tranquil nature of where the photographer comes from and contrasts with the dangerous place mentioned in Stanza 1.
- ‘Home’ also connotes peace/ safety.
S2
“Ordinary Pain”
- Oxymoron. Pain is unexpected/ unpleasant – not ordinary.
- Idea that people in ‘Rural England’ don’t experience real pain.
- They experience unhappiness which can be overcome by a simple change of weather.
- It’s people who live in places of conflict that truly suffer.
S2
“Simple weather”
- Lives of people at home are straightforward/ easy
- Contrasts with those suffering in war zones.
S2
“Fields which don’t explode beneth the feet of running children in a nightmare heat
Word choice used to emphasise the contrast between way of life in UK compared to places of conflict.
* ‘explode’ – connotations of violence/ bloodshed,
* ‘running children’ – connotes innocent victims/ fear/ panic
* ‘nightmare’ – connotes unimaginable suffering
S3
“Something is happening”
- Ambiguous sentence.
- An image is beginning to appear on the photographic paper.
- However, the photographer is also beginning to have an emotional reaction to what he has witnessed.
- He is being taken back to the moment of the photo and feeling … Despair/ grief/ horror/ fear?
S3
“A stranger’s features”
- ‘Stranger’ has connotations of something unknown/ foreign.
- Emphasises the isolating nature of job.
S3
“Faintly start to twist before his eyes”
‘Twist’ connotes pain and suffering
S3
“A half-formed Ghost”
Metaphor compares developing image to a ghost. Just as a ghost is frightening/ haunts, so too is the memory of the person in the photo traumatic for the photographer/ haunting the photographer’s thoughts.
S3
“He remembers the cries”
‘cries’ connotes pain and suffering.
S3
“How he sought approval”
- ‘Sought approval’ word choice reveals the moral dilemma the photographer faces.
- He needs to do his job, but his job involves intruding on other people’s suffering.
S3
“Without words to do what someone must”
- Perhaps the photographer finds it too difficult to ask permission.
Perhaps he cannot ask because he cannot speak the language. - ‘Must’ again shows the importance of his job.
S3
“Blood stained into foreign dust”
- ‘blood’ connotes violence/ death.
- ‘stained’ connotes the idea of something permanently ruined, emphasising the destructive nature of war
- ‘foreign’ suggests that the suffering of people in places of conflict is ‘foreign’ to us/ unfamiliar
- ‘dust’ links back to religious imagery – idea of death and cremation.
S4
“A hundred agonies”
- Emphasises the extent of the suffering caused by war.
- The photos themselves have becomes symbols of pain and distress.
S4
“In black and white”
- Literally the colour of the photos.
- Metaphorically represents that there is no doubt in the photographer’s mind about the suffering he has witnessed.
S4
“From which his editor will pick out five or six”
- ‘five or six’ contrasts with ‘hundred’
- The editor only has room for very few.
- Duffy seems to be criticizing the editors for dealing with the photos in a casual way.
S4
“Sunday’s supplement”
- The photos aren’t even considered important enough to make the front page.
- Hundreds of photos of suffering have been reduced to just a handful which only are included in an extra insert in the paper.
S4
“The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears”
The readers’ reactions to the photos are only momentary.
S4
“Between bath & pre-luch beers”
- The readers’ lives are filled with luxuries compared with those who live in places of conflict.
- Readers soon get on with enjoying themselves after a fleeting moment of sympathy
S4
“From the aeroplane”
- Sense of separation/ distance.
- He feels disconnected from the people in his own country because they do not understand him/ his work/ his experiences.
S4
“He stares impassively”
Connotes being emotionless – he feels no connection.
S4
“They do not care”
Again, Duffy further criticizes the readers of papers (us) for our lack of empathy/ action/ care for the suffering we see everyday in the news
Overall
Central concerns
- Horrors of war
- Photographer’s trauma
- Social inaction/indifference
