war photographer Flashcards
form
the first line is in trochaic pentameter then the 2nd line switch to iambic pentameter this immediately unsettles the readers.
“in his dark room he is finally alone”
the quote is used symbolically, literally hes in the darkroom developing pictures but symbolically it suggest that his purpose is dark. so we question the moral purpose of the photographer if hes a dark person or only recording dark events. “finally alone” suggest that hes pleased to be alone at last. perhaps hes someone who doesn’t like humanity he doesn’t think men can’t be good because of what hes seen in wartime.
“spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
each photograph presents suffering. sibliance used creates a sinister sound gives us an idea that what hes doing is sinister being a public observer of it and not interfering. “set out in ordered rows” is an allusion to death it has a semantic field of a grave yard. hes making a living out of other peoples death we are used to this sort of image in war cemeteries which is chaotic which suggest hes trying to make order out of chaos
“a priest preparing to intone a mass. Belfast. Beirut. phenm penh. All flesh is grass.”
rhyming couplet and half rhyme used to unsettle us.the mention of a “Priest” and mass” contrast too the sinister connation of “darkroom”. listing of a town,city and country shows how the conflict just gets bigger and bigger. the caesura forces the reader to stop and think about the places affected by war instead of moving on like they do with the photographs.the poem criticizes how we don’t stop and think about the horrors of war but the caesura forces us too. biblical allusion of “all flesh is grass” . highlighting the fragility of life
“a half formed ghost. he remembers the cries of this mans wife how he sought approval”
looks for approval but takes the photo anyways this could be too show the people at home the horrors of war and the effects of those who are not fighting in the war but still suffer.Duffy deliberately uses the noun “ghost” as it has a semantic field of death to reminds us that this person is probably dead.
“the readers eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers”
ironic internal rhyme which makes this line feel jolly when they should be feeling shock and horror. contrasts with the emotion which should be tears but “the readers eyeballs prick with tears” “prick” is tiny and it suggest how few the tears are. they then drink bear so they don’t have to face whats happening in reality. the half rhyme quickness the pace in the final verse representing how quickly people forget the horrors of war.
“from the aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns a living and they do care.
rhyming couplet.public looks at the pictures and then forget. creates a cyclical structure begins with him coming back from the trip and ends with him going back on another trip. shows there is no escaping it just goes round and round.
structure
the poem has a strict 6 lines per 4 stanza structure which is juxtaposed as the structure is controlled. this suggest shes trying to make order on the chaos of war the unchanging structure shows the war photographers attempts are futile.nothing changes. he trying to make us aware of the horrors of war but everything just carries on as normal represented verse by verse the same as the previous one.
“ordinary pain which simple weather dispels”/”rural England “
reminds us of the small troubles people at home complain about like “weather”. “rural England” is between two full stops caesura therefore separated from the descriptions of the war zones. it shows how the people are able to separate what they see from the reality of the situation . also shows how they fail to grasp the true horrors of war and are temporarily touched.
