War photographer Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is the structure of war photographer
-four sestets, each containing two rhyming couplets. This rigid composition contrasts with the chaotic disturbing images; he tried to impose order on the war
-cyclical structure-at start he is returning from a assignment but at the end he is going to one; reflects the pattern of his work and how conflict always continues
What is the tone of war photographer
Pain, agony, suffering versus the apathy of the public, impassivity
What are the themes of war photographer
Isolation, memory, photographs, children vs adult world, innocence vs violence, hopelessness, despair, global issues
‘Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.’
-the list of war torn countries uses palosive consonants, calling to mind the sounds of gunshots and explosions creating an image of the horror of war for the reader. This is emphasised by the repeated caesuri which presents him compartmentalising his emotions creating a tone of impassivity despite the deep resonance it clearly has with him
-the biblical quote ‘all flesh is grass’ presents the fragility of life, used here by Duffy to present how the photographer has abandoned him religious faith after the extent of death he has faced
‘Solutions slop’
-the sibilance used initially mimics the sound of developing his photos, however it also draws our attention to the dual meaning of solution as there is not solution for inhumanity. However, in spite of this, he hopes by showing his photos it will galop resolve conflict.
‘Running children in a nightmare heat.’
-Duffy uses the image of children to evoke the injustice of conflict as ‘running children’ usually has connotations of joy and happiness yet now they run for their life. This also makes the poem more emotive for the reader.
-there is also irony use when describing them running in a nightmare heat as the stories about war are not nightmares, they are real.
‘A half formed ghost’
-conveys the trauma of his job as he had to take a picture of someone in the process of dying however the end stopped line then conveys how the person has now lost their life.
-described as a ghost shows how this past memory still haunts him
-it also conveys how the person has been stripped of their identity as they have of their life
‘The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.’
-the verb ‘prick’ implies the little lasting impacts the picture, which is only a small glimpse of the pain, has on the reader. This is emphasised as the reader sees the pictures ‘between’ their other activities and only makes up a small part of their day whilst the people in the photo’s life’s haves been destroyed
-the palosive consonants emphasises the photographer’s resentment towards the western world
-the internal rhyme or ‘tears’ and ‘beers’ presents how meaningless the photos are to the reader and the son like quality reflects the ease of non conflict countries and how they remain blissfully ignorant
‘He earns his living and they do not care’
-whilst he is a member of the community he feels an outside in both spheres presenting his isolation which he will always have to live with
-the poem ends on the emphatically placed verb ‘care’ presenting how we lack this emotion and we need to show more compassion
What is the form of war photographer
Narrative poem
What poem does war photographer link to
-blessing- both teach reader about global issues, suffering, religion, desperation, apathy
