War Photographer + Remains Flashcards
(15 cards)
Point 1
Both texts present characters which experience PTSD, exploring the impact on mental health as a result of conflict.
Point 2
Both poems powerfully present conflict as causing huge amounts of pain and suffering
Point 3
Both poems suggest the characters feel a sense of nihilism as result of experiencing conflict.
WP evidence 1
“solutions slop”
“which did not tremble then though seem to now”
WP evidence 2
“only light is red and softly glows”
“running children in nightmare heat”
“cries”
“blood stained into foreign dust”
“Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh.”
WP evidence 3
“a hundred agonies in black-and-white”
“stares impassively”
“he earns his living”
“they do not care”
‘between the bath and pre-lunch beers’
the end has a more regular, metered rhythm
WP analysis 1
Connotations of ‘solutions’ contrasts with ‘slop’, building a sense of disorientation. The sibilance creates a sense of unease, similar to the unease of the photographer. Sibilance could also be the ringing in the photographer’s ears after his experience in conflict.
The word “tremble” is associated with weakness and fear, and the contrast between ‘then’ and ‘now’ highlight how the conflict experienced has had such a large impact, perhaps the photographer is experiencing PTSD.
WP analysis 2
Red - connotations of blood and danger, evokes fear in the reader and makes them realise the pain felt
The image of children is a visceral image of suffering, the children make it even more distressing and the use of the word ‘nightmare’ makes the suffering seem unbelievable and surreal . The auditory imagery of ‘cries’ emphasises the pain by providing another sense. The fact the photographer ‘remembers the cries’ makes the pain seem longer lasting as he can still hear them after they’re gone, exaggerating the suffering caused by conflict, as it can follow one around. The word ‘stained’ has connotations of permanence, indicating that conflict has long-lasting consequences for the country and all those that witness it. The tricolon of places which have experienced conflict makes the suffering seem worse as there are so many different places which experience it. The plosive sounds intensify this as they echo the sound of war, and the caesuras mark each place, signalling how they all have their own individual pain.
WP analysis 3
The word ‘agonies’ is very emotive language which is exaggerated by the number ‘hundred’ as there are many people experiencing such extreme pain. This is suggested to cause a feeling of nihilism in the last stanza. Firstly, by describing the photos as ‘black-and-white’, a theme of monotony is introduced, as there is clearly a loss of colour, and with that possibly emotion as details are removed. This stanza also has a more metered rhythm than the rest of the poem, which continues to build this sense of monotony, and suggests the photographer has a slightly nihilistic point of view, that war is continuing to happen, despite his job that one may hope brings awareness to end conflict. By including the trivial images of the ‘bath and pre-lunch beers’, the poet suggests war has been normalised, and reading about war has become part of their routine. By finished the poem with this monotonous stanza (which includes ‘they do not care’ and ‘stares impassively’, phrases with negative associations, that no progress is being made), and contrasting this with the rest of the poem that strongly portrays conflict as horrific, the poet criticises those that allow conflict to happen.
Remains evidence 1
Enjambment between stanzas
Half rhymes
Phonology - ‘I’ sounds
“blood-shadow”
“Sleep”, “Dream”, “bloody hands”
Quick rhythm for most of poem
Remains evidence 2
“week after week”
“soft of inside out”, “tosses his guts”
Remains evidence 3
“legs it”, “sort of”, “mates”
Slowing rhythm towards end
“week after week”
Remains analysis 1
The poet builds a disorientating sense of unease by the use of jarring half-rhymes and the enjambment between the stanzas. The enjambment could also be considered to be like the soldier’s memories that follow him, as the poem flows continuously. The phrase ‘blood-shadow’ is significant, as blood is a symbol of guilt, and the word shadow has connotations of following one around. This perhaps illustrates the soldier’s PTSD and his feeling of guilt about the conflict. The poet also uses some references to Shakespeare’s plays ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Hamlet’ (in the poem, “Sleep”, “Dream”, and “bloody hands”). The reference to Lady Macbeth’s speech with “bloody hands” is particularly significant as it is a symbol of guilt, and something which was hugely important in the play as it weakened her and lead to her downfall. The poet therefore suggests that PTSD is one effect of conflict that can have disastrous consequences. In addition to this, this feeling of guilt is potentially portrayed to be more severe as one is alone with this feeling. The poem contains a lot of assonance of “I” (“Three of a kind all letting fly, and I swear”) building a sense of personal guilt, which is then clarified with the final line when the uses the personal pronoun ‘my’ and says “my bloody hands”.
Remains analysis 2
The gruesome images in “sort of inside out” and “tosses his guts” makes it clear that conflict causes large amounts of physical pain. The poet uses the emotive word ‘agony’, an extreme form of pain, making the suffering more obvious. Although this poem seems to focus on a specific person, the ambiguity of who this person is (“this looter”) suggests that this is not an entirely unique experience, and there are many other cases when people are killed in this horrific manner.
The repetition of week in “week after week” could indicate the continuation of conflict and the seemingly never-ending aspect of war that increases the suffering.
Remains analysis 3
The colloquial language with “legs it”, “sort of”, and “mates” creates a casual tone that perhaps suggests a sense of giving up, as the conflict continues (either in reality or in the soldier’s mind through PTSD) and the soldier feels there is nothing that can stop it without resulting in more pain. Also, as the poem comes to the end, there is more sibilance which slows the rhythm down, building up to finishing with a sense of monotony that allows the poet to criticise conflict and as it causes so much pain that it leads to people losing hope.
