War photographer Flashcards
Structure
The use of rhyming couplets such as “Mass” and “grass” creates an impression of restraint as if the war photographer is trying to hold in his emotions
it’s a stanzaic poem = the uniformity of the poem could reflect the incorrigible and rigid nature of war but also contrasts with it’s chaotic and disturbing images describe in the poem.
cyclical structure highlight how the war photographers trauma is inescapable
In his darkroom he is finally alone
(effects of conflict, - causes him depression
memory, guilt)
the adverb “finally” creates a sense of relief,
‘alone’ has connotations of isolation/ solitude. The word ‘finally’ suggests the photograher has been seeking solcace/ trying to escape his memories and he is glad to be home as he has been surrounded by many horrors that he wishes to leave behind.
even though darkrooms are used by photographers to develop their photographs, the “darkroom” could also be used as a metaphor for the photographer’s depression and loneliness, foreshadowing how his photos haunt him
Connotations of a serious, brooding, bleak place
spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
memory, effects of conflict - causes him pain
the “spools” are reels of film containing pictures of war victims and therefore a metaphor for grief and pain
‘spools of suffering’ uses sibilance to slow down the pace of the poem and to draw attention to the images that are recorded on the spools of photography film, the ‘s’ repeated also imitates a sharp hissing or spitting sound — perhaps to imitate the sense of pain and suffering that the photographer’s subjects went through.
This could also be reflective of how the suffering of those are abroad are hushed and quitened so people can continue with their everyday lives
the contrast between “spools of suffering” and “ordered rows” which could be an allusion to the chaos of where he went to
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom. Penh
effects of war, reality, memory, anger
The repetitive nature of the one word sentence could mirror the incapability of the war photographer to describe the horrors he has seen - they are inexpressible
The listed names abruptly change the flow of the stanza. It suggests a succession of fleeting images of war, recreating the photographer’s experience as he develops them. The fragmented nature also suggests that these are only snapshots and that there have been many more wars.
the list of different cities globally affected by war highlights the power of conflict regardless of the place or wealth.
The use of the plosive ‘b’s and ‘p’s suggest aggression and anger.
All flesh is grass.
effects and reality of conflict, guilt, anger
The fact that there are so many pieces of grass in the ground could be symbolic of the number of dead bodies, also we carelessly trample over grass linking to how these lives were carelessly lost and forgotten
signifies the transient nature of life, especially during times of conflict, when one death can mean so little.
the use of flesh is a euphemism of bodies, he can’t describe fully the true horrors that he has witnessed showing a faint glimpse of empathy but he furthermore detaches himself, this detachment mirrors that of many readers of these tragedies, we detach ourselves from those in these articles and intern do nothing about it, by doing so we are introduced to the photographer’s moral dilemma.
Biblical metaphor : Isaiah 40
Rural england
the use of the caesura to isolate this conveys how the people here are isolated from the “hundred agonies in black and white”. this could also reflect how they are excluded from the truth about war
they do not understand the effects of war
‘Rural’ connotes peace, calm tranquil nature of where the photographer comes from and contrasts with the dangerous place that is war
to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat.
(effects, reality, memory)
This creates twisted parallelism drawn between barefoot children running in the grass for fun (in rural England) and the contrasting description of the war zone- children running for their lives and being blown up by mines.
“don’t explode” creates a sense of relief whiles highlighting the privilege that the reader has as they don’t have to worry about exploding fields.
The metaphor “Nightmare heat” suggests the unbearable, inescapable pain of the war zone and the idea that it’s a horror only our imaginations can understand. Nightmare also introduces the war photographer being haunted by images of the war.
Nick ut’s infamous war photograph of children running away from napalm bombs
twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost.
memory, effects of war
Verb “twist”, has connotations of immense pain and suggests pain in the face of the subject of the photograph as well as the painful memories they induce in the photographer
the metaphor “half-formed ghost” Carol makes this ambiguous as it could interpret the pictures developing as well as the mutilated victims of the Vietnam war and how they were physically unidentifiable. also, it shows he is haunted my the memories of taking the pictures and its going to haunt him a lifetime
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.
bloodstained into foreign dust.
memory, effect, reality of conflict
“foreign” further distances the reader from conflict, emphasising their privileges
By using the verb ‘stained’ this could suggest that the memories and associated feelings are remaining with him forever and he is somewhat scarred from the tragic events he has witnessed. juxtaposes with the blood being stained on the “dust” which is easily blown away. this could reflect how the suffering and tragedies that the people living in places of conflict, are easily forgotten by most people but it is permanent (“stained”) in the photographers mind
Biblical metaphor : Ephesians 3:20
A hundred agonies in black-and-white
reality, effects, memory
“hundred” - the reader could interpret this as hyperbolic to exaggerate the horrific nature of war, however ironically, this is a round number to how many photos war photographers take which shocks the reader as it expresses the multitude of grief happening in places of conflict.
“agonies”- extremely emotive and more severe than mere pain which could reflect the atrocities faced in conflict or could also reflect the emotional trauma and physical pain that the war photographer had to go through to take these photos
“black and white” :
- could literally refer to the colour of the photos,
- could metaphorically symbolise the simplification of the injustices into mere photographs, further reducing the suffering.
“prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers”
effects, anger
the quick mono-syllabic sound made with “prick”, as well as the connotations of being “pricked” only causing a small amount of pain, reflect how fleeting and quick the pain of war is felt by the readers of the newspaper
“bath and pre-lunch beers” contain plosives which show the frustration and disgust at people who don’t care about the horrors
the internal rhyme used, increases the pace of the line - representative of how quickly we are able to forget about the horrors of the war. = emphasisesd by the use of the preposition “netween, readers “tears” are momentary and the public quickly move to smothing else
From aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns a living and they do not care.
effect of conflict - depression, sadness
anger- disgust towards hometown people
It is implied that the photographer is numb to the significance of his task, as are the readers and his editor. The word ‘impassively’ reinforces this.
Alternatively, it could imply sadness and hopelessness — the photographer may care but he thinks his readers don’t. His work has become meaningless. Hence, his depression, a symptom of which is numbness
The repetitive assonance in ‘aeroplane’, ‘stares’, ‘where’, ‘care’ creates a feeling of dreary repetitiveness, reflecting the drudgery that his job has become. The poem concludes on a sad, negative note.
This poem represents a continuous cycle of the photographer going to war zones, taking images, and having little impact. This line shows how nothing changes despite his work, which is supported by the repeated assonance
They could be the readers, who unintentionally don’t care about him and just want to get on with their lives in comfort, or it could be the victims of the war who intentionally don’t care about him as he is earning a living from their suffering without giving aid. Also, it highlights how angry and bitter he is to the people of his hometown and suggests he feels indifferent to him
