War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy

Question 1

Context for War Photographer:

Answer 1

• Tells the story of the war photographer developing photos at home in england, as the photos develop he begins to remember the horror of the war
• Duffy conveys both the brutality of war and the indifference of those who might view the photos in newspapers and magasins: those who live in comfort and are unaffected by war.
• The location is ambiguous and therefore universal
• “Running children in a nightmare heat” - the napalm girl - a young girl who was the victim of a chemical attack in the Vietnam war - highlights the entrapment of innocent children

Question 2

What are the themes in War Photographer?

Answer 2

• power of man
• power of identity/memory
• internal conflict
• conflict of identity
• conflict between people and instititions
• psychological impact of conflict
• physical impact of conflict
• conflict of thoughts

Question 3

Form and Structure in War Photographer:

Answer 3

• Enjambment reinforces the sense that the world is out of order and confused
• Rhyme reinforces the idea that he is trying to restore order to a chaotic world
• Contrasts the imagery of rural england to the nightmare warzones
• third stanza - a specific image appears before him

Question 4

“In his darkroom he is finally alone.”

Answer 4

• The darkroom is where the photos are developed but it is also dark due to the nature of the photos

Question 5

“spools of suffering set out”

Answer 5

• Alliteration of ‘s’ sounds conveys the photographer’s sadness
• Transferred epithet suggests that he is suffering

Question 6

“The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass.”

Answer 6

• Red symbolises the blood of the people in the pictures
• Also symbolises the sanctuary light of a church
• The photographer takes his job seriously - it is almost a religion to him (which links back to the red sanctuary light)
• He is preparing to pass on his message about war through his photographs by developing them

Question 7

“Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh.”

Answer 7

• The message that war is worldwide is conveyed through the list of the three different places where war has occurred
• Caesuras allow for the individual place names to be emphasised

Question 8

“All flesh is grass.”

Answer 8

• Biblical quote (links back to religious theme of the lines before)
• Conveys that everybody dies and returns to the earth

Question 9

“Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands which did not tremble then though seem to now.”

Answer 9

• The word ‘solution’ indicates the chemicals used to develop the photos but also suggests that he is trying to solve the problem by raising awareness of the issue
• The photographer is in control when taking the photos but now his emotions are overwhelming him
• Caesura before the line emphasises his hesitation as he prepares himself to do the job

Question 10

“Rural England.”

Answer 10

• He is now detached from the war entirely
• This is a well-to-do area with little suffering

Question 11

“Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel”

Answer 11

• There is little to complain about as there is no suffering
• The only problem is the weather
• Emphasises just how detached this place is from what he has just witnessed

Question 12

“to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat.”

Answer 12

• Reference to a famous Vietnam war photo
• Emphasises the distance of the war from the people in England

Question 13

“A stranger’s features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost.”

Answer 13

• The word ‘twist’ suggests that the face is in pain or agony
• ‘Ghost’ suggests that the person is dead but has come back to haunt the photographer
• Soft sounds indicate the picture beginning to form and become clear

Question 14

“He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approval without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust.”

Answer 14

• The length of this sentence indicates that it is a long and painful memory for the photographer
• Photographer felt he had to take the photo to let people see what really happens during war
• ‘Stained’ indicates that the photo has left a mark on him
• ‘Foreign dust’ suggests that the war was far away, again emphasising the distance of England/the UK from the war
• ‘Dust’ represents the poverty of the country and links back to the message that everybody returns to the earth

Question 15

“A hundred agonies in black-and-white”

Answer 15

• The picture is full of the pain and agony that war creates
• The photographer is also in agony as he sees the pain of the people (transferred epithet)
• ‘Black and white’ suggests that what is in the photo (war) is inherently wrong and this is clear to see

Question 16

“five or six for Sunday’s supplement”

Answer 16

• It is not front page news as it should be
• ‘Sunday’ links back to the religious theme and the idea of the photographer being the priest conducting his sermon - trying to get the message of war across

Question 17

“The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.”

Answer 17

• ‘Reader’ (singular) indicates that the message has not reached many people
• The reader is close to crying but does not as the sadness doesn’t last long
• The reader forgets the pain and agony of the people in the pictures and returns to his day
• ‘Prick’ does not quite rhyme with the word in the line before it, so the photographer has failed (it almost works but not quite)

Question 18

“From aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns a living and they do not care.”

Answer 18

• The photographer does not feel that England is his home as people do not feel the way he wants them to (“they do not care”)
• The rhyme emphasises the ignorance of the people