War Photographer Flashcards
(12 cards)
author
duffy
Purpose
Psychological effects of war/call out readers on their inaction or apathy towards foreign conflicts
Opening (quote)
“In his darkroom he is finally alone / with spools of suffering”
Opening (anal.)
: “In his darkroom he is finally alone / with spools of suffering”
literal darkroom.
Metaphorically a dark place in the photographer’s mind – he is constantly exposing the horrors of war, but must participate in them and experience them to do so.
Do his photos make the world accept the unacceptable by exposing them to it?
“alone with spools of suffering” – he is forced to confront these horrors, they are a part of his daily life.
Ironic use of sibilance (often soothing) – it’s horrifying.
Tehnique 1 (quote)
- “Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.”:
Technique 1 (anal.)
“Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.”:
Use of pause caused by caesura almost like an ironic prayer.
Scenes of tragedy with scale increasing. Catholic v protestant -> religious war -> ethnic cleansing.
Specific calling to middle class readers who will be familiar with the Radio 4 Shipping Forecast – allusion? Direct attack on those who hold power; suggests that they see news from the war as insignificant, like a shipping forecast (which is irrelevant to most listeners).
“All flesh is grass” ironic use of peaceful biblical imagery. Downplay the events so that the photographer can deal with them. Shows how others view the horrors of war in the media.
Quotes 2 & 3 (no analysis)
- “hands which did not tremble then”: easy to analyse
- “ordinary pain / which simple weather can dispel”: easy to analyse
Technique 4 (quote)
“A stranger’s features / faintly start to twist before his eyes, / a half-formed ghost.”
Technique 4 (anal.)
- “A stranger’s features / faintly start to twist before his eyes, / a half-formed ghost.”:
boring interpretation – demonstrating the horrors of war.
The photograph develops. “twist” suggests the horrific nature of war (perhaps the subject is disfigured as a result of injury.
“ghost” connotes death.
ALTERNATIVELY – he sees his reflection in the solution.
The war has wholly changed him (perhaps physically from injury, or psychologically, or both), and he doesn’t recognise himself.
He is only just realising who he has become, and it has made him inhuman, almost dead, a shell of who he once was.
Ending (two quotes)
“five or six for Sunday’s supplement”, “he stares impassively at where / he earns his living and they do not care.”
Ending (anal.)
: “five or six for Sunday’s supplement”
– outrage on the photographer’s part (who is the editor to decide which get published or not?
Is all suffering not equal?)
“Sunday’s supplement” – it is ignored by the editors and the readers (they “DO NOT CARE”)
“he stares impassively at where / he earns his living and they do not care.” – prepares himself psychologically for the war. Attack on the reader.
Structure anal.
Regular rhymescheme – traditional. Poem encourages the reader to use traditional morality.
We should be outraged by the photographs.
Regular sestets: Order and structure out of the disorder of war; deriving meaning from the meaningless and futile.
