War Photographer Flashcards
Dark room
Word choice?
A dark room is where you develop photographs. Dark also has connotations of fear or sleep.
Finally
Word choice.
Suggests he has been waiting for it for a very long time.
Spools of suffering
Sibilance
Spools are the reels of photos inside old cameras. This emphasises that these pictures are all of suffering.
Ordered rows
Word choice
Connotations of war graves or soldiers in formation. The “order” contradicts the chaos in the images.
Red
Word choice.
Red has connotations of blood. Contrast to the peaceful setting.
White light cannot be used.
As though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intoned a mass.
Simile.
Priests conduct mass with candle light so the scenes are similar. Yet, it also suggests that he is almost worshipping the photographs.
Belfast. Beirut. Phenom penh.
Alliteration/list.
Minor sentences.
Emphaisises that he has seen many horrors. There has been many wars. His photos have never stopped them.
All flesh is grass.
Metaphor.
They (the dead) are all buried/ back to nature. Life is fragile.
Solutions slop.
Sibilance.
The solutions are used to develop the photographs.
It creates a hissing sound.
Makes it easier to imagine the scene.
Which did not tremble then though seem to now.
Contrast.
You would think his hands would be trembling when he is experiencing the wars. It’s actually worse now that he has to reflect on it.
Rural England.
Short sentence. Word choice of “rural” highlights the contrast between the busy chaos of war and the peace of the English countryside.
to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children a nightmare heat.
Rhyme.
By using “running children” as the example, the author highlights the injustice of war as children have no control over their surroundings. The author has taken an image of children running on a field but twisted it to a war perspective.
Something is happening.
Short sentence.
Acts as a turning point in the poem.
The war events vary quickly and things change quickly.
Stranger’s features
The plot has been developed yet so he doesn”t recognize / remember the man.
Half - formed ghost
Metaphor.
The picture has not yet come into focus, but also his memory is slowly forming.
