War photographer Flashcards
Context, meaning and purpose
-Tells the story of a war photographer developing photos at home in England: as a photo develops he begins to remember the horrors of war - painting a contrast to the safety of his dark room.
-He appears to be returning to a warzone at the end of the poem.
-Duffy conveys both the brutality of war and the indifference of those who might view the photos in newspapers and magazines: those who live in comfort and are unaffected by war.
Context
Duffy was the Poet Laureate.
-Duffy was inspired to write this
poem by her friendship with a
war photographer.
‘All flesh…’
“All flesh is grass”: Biblical reference that means all human life is temporary – we all die eventually.
“He has a …”
“He has a job to do”: like a soldier, the photographer has a sense of duty.
“running children…”
“running children in a nightmare heat”: emotive imagery with connotations of hell.
“blood stained…”
“blood stained into a foreign dust”: lasting impact of war – links to Remains and ‘blood shadow’.
“he earns a living…”
“he earns a living and they do not care”: ‘they’ is ambiguous – it could refer to readers or the wider world.
‘In his darkroom he is… ’.
‘In his darkroom he is finally
alone’.
‘The only light is …’.
‘The only light is red and softly
glows’.
‘Solutions slop in…’.
‘Solutions slop in trays beneath
his hands’.
‘A stranger’s features faintly
start to…his eyes, a … ghost’.
‘A stranger’s features faintly
start to twist before his eyes, a
half-formed ghost’.
‘The reader’s eye balls… ’.
‘The reader’s eye balls prick
with tears’.
