this poem is about: themes and key ideas · this poem is about: in this narrative poem, beatrice...

This poem is about:

A third person narrator describes a soldier ‘going over the top’ during the First World War. The poem describes how this process transforms a soldier from a living thinking person into a dangerous weapon of war.

Written by Ted Hughes.

Themes and Key Ideas:

• Struggles of war: the soldier must obey orders (actions) but has own mind too (thoughts/feelings)

• Disillusionment and terror: the soldier loses all focus on noble ideas of ‘king and country’ in the face of killing and war

Key Quotes:

“hot … heavy … hearing”: repetition of the ‘h’ sound resembles heavy breathing of the soldier while running“sweating like molten iron”: similes used to reflect soldier experience“threw up a yellow hare”: personification of nature and symbolism of hare as a soldier

Compare with:

Bayonet Charge

FORM- An narrative poem written in third person, as if the poet was watching the charge, which enables us to imagine/watch with him.

LANGUAGE- Active present tense used to create action sequences reflecting the soldier ‘going over the top’. Metaphors and similes used to reflect the soldier’s experience as well as thoughts and feelings.

IMAGERY- Images of death e.g. ‘the yellow hare that rolled like a flame’ andof war ‘raw-seamed, hot khaki’ and ‘lugging a rifle’.

R’s- No rhyme scheme implemented: inappropriate in poem of this nature and subject but some techniques used to speed rhythm up and down reflecting action.

THEMES- (power and conflict – exam question)POWER: the soldier is without power in action as he must obey orders but has power of thought and will always have his own mindCONFLICT: First World war scenario. Also conflict between war and nature –nature is destroyed by war.

STRUCTURE – The poem is in three stanzas. Stanza 1 is an ‘action sequence’ of running but punctuation (dashes) breaks up the sequence as if the soldier is waking up/becoming more conscious. Stanza 2 includes soldier’s thoughts and stanza 3 introduces death, possibly because the soldier comes to his death.

This poem is:

A narrative description of the Battle of Balaclava which occurred during the Crimean War. For the first time, newspapers were reporting the triumphs and errors of the war and Tennyson appears to be reacting to this.


• Tragedy: errors made by those in power led to huge loss of life

• Human fragility: huge numbers of men are easily destroyed by the weapons of war

• Remembrance: heroism and sacrifice should be rewarded through public commemoration/remembrance

Key Quotes:

“There’s but to do and die”: alliteration emphasises the lack of power soldiers have – they must obey“Into the Valley of death”: personification suggests inevitability of death in war but also because of the mistakes made“Cannon”, “Honour”: repetition of key ideas to emphasise feelings

Compare with:

Charge of the Light Brigade

FORM- An narrative poem written in third person, as if the poet is reporting on events, much likes newspapers at the time were.

LANGUAGE- Repetition of key words creates sense of empathy for mass of nameless soldiers. Personification of the valley as ‘death’, ‘hell’ etc.

IMAGERY- Images of a charge with key words such as ‘onward’ and ‘rode’ as well as death through alliteration: ‘storm’d with shot and shell’

R’s- Regular rhyme schemes implemented throughout potentially mimicking the pace of the charge and the orderliness of soldiers/armies who all obey/follow commands.

THEMES- (power and conflict – exam question)POWER: those in power are not immune from mistakes and other people can end up paying the priceCONFLICT: Crimean War scenario. Also between duty and sense of self in war.

STRUCTURE – The poem is in six regular stanzas with similar line numbers and rhyme schemes throughout reflecting the precision and order of armies. Short sentences create pace and action but also allow for emphasis on key ideas.

This poem is about:

The narrator is talking about his identity and how he hasn’t been taught about his black history and heritage. He decides he must investigate his heritage and establish his own identity.

Written by John Agard who is of Caribbean descent but lives in the UK.


• History and its importance in helping us know ourselves and establish our identities

• Difficulties of living in a multi-cultural society

• Power of white imperialism

Key Quotes:

“bandage up me eye”: metaphor forthe blindness he feels about his heritage“Dem tell me/What dem want to tell me”: repetition of ‘dem’ suggests power of others over his identity“I carving out me identity”: metaphor for taking control – power returning

Compare with:

Checking out me history

FORM- An oral monologue, meant to be read aloud that reflects black spoken word/music/rap culture. It also incorporates British nursery rhyme.

LANGUAGE- Phonetic language and dialect- a mix between creole and standard English – cements the poet’s culture and forces us to read it in his native tongue. Frequent metaphors of vision (“bandage up me eye”) to show how blind people can be to their own heritage and history if they are led by the powerful majority.

IMAGERY- Images of light are associated with black history, creating a contrast, but also connoting the freedom associated with knowing about his history.

R’s- Repetition throughout, strong rhythm and some rhyme, though irregular -these are all oral poetry techniques and help create a creole sounding poem.

THEMES- (power and conflict – exam question)POWER: your identity gives you power, others who control history/education have power over others which is undeservedCONFLICT: between his true heritage and his education/British living

STRUCTURE – The poem alternates between historical figures from black and white cultures to highlight what he was taught and wasn’t taught.

This poem is about:Wilfred Owen’s poem focuses on the misery felt by World War One soldiers waiting overnight in the trenches. Although nothing is happening and there is no fighting, there is still danger because they are exposed to the extreme cold and their wait through the night is terrifying. The eight stanzas are gripping because the speaker describes the trauma of living and struggling in such poor conditions. There is a sense of despair and of lost hope.

Key Themes and Ideas

• The threat of war: it is not only machines/enemy fire, it is the conditions for soldiers

• Power of nature: it is seen as the biggest threat in the trenches

• Owen is casting light on poor conditions for soldiers too.

Key Quotes:“But nothing happens”: repetition of this phrase suggests there is no fighting, however the soldiers are still under threat from the elements.“bullets streak the silence./Less deadly than the air that shudders black with snow”: the alliterative ‘s’ sound in bullets/streak/silence creates an unexpected softness about bullets and ‘less deadly’ contrasts the threat of death by gunfire with cold.“We turn back to our dying”: repetition of dying in final stanzas suggest a metaphorical death in the misery of war as well as the possibility of a slow and painful real death due to exposure.

Compare with:

Exposure

FORM- A descriptive poem written in first person (pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’) indicating Owen’s involvement in the war. He writes to present soldier’s conditions and suffering to the masses back at home.

LANGUAGE- Alliteration and assonance are used to create the sounds of the trenches – bullets passing by, weather sounds etc.

IMAGERY- Natural imagery is dominant but often has a harshness to it, emphasising the power of nature e.g. ‘mad gusts tugging on the wire’ or ‘poignant misery of dawn’

R’s-The first four lines of each stanza = rhyming pattern of abba. Regularity emphasises the unchanging nature of daily life in the trenches. Use of half rhyme though: knive us/nervous, wire/war, brambles/rumbles which unsettles the reader. Repetition of ‘death’ and ‘but nothing happens’ emphasizes key feelings/fears among soldiers.

THEMES- (link to Power and Conflict – exam question)POWER: The power of nature is stronger than the power of man’s machines/weapons of war. Nature is seen as a bigger threat whilst the power of bullets appears muted.CONFLICT: War-time situation and Owen reflects soldiers real experience.

STRUCTURE – 8 stanzas of five lines. The last line of each stanza is noticeably shorter and indented which emphasises its importance. Many of these short lines are either rhetorical questions or the repetition of the phrase ‘But nothing happens’. Both have the effect of emphasising the pointlessness of war.

This poem is about:

In this narrative poem, Beatrice Garland explores the testimony of the daughter of a kamikaze pilot. Unlike many of his comrades, this pilot turns back from his target and returns home.The poem explores how he is shunned by everyone on his return.


• Family: generations hear of the pilot’s story as it is passed on. Family isn’t always loyal

• Conflict: duty in war and sense of life/self-preservation

• Suicide: moral question

Key Quotes:

“which had been the better way to die?”: rhetorical question reveals contemplation of the poem – was kamikaze right and honourable?“like a huge flag, waved first one way …”: simile and alliteration reflecting movement of the ocean and of the plane“one-way journey into history”: honour in kamikaze missions

Compare with:

Kamikaze

FORM- Narrative poem in third person but includes multiple figures: the poet, the daughter telling the story to her children, her father and his recollections and her mother and her actions. Multiple narrative voices.

LANGUAGE- Regular similes and alliteration create reflections between land/sea and sky, capturing experience of the pilot. Rhetorical questions pose moral dilemma for reader.

IMAGERY- Natural imagery of the sea reflects simplicity of life but also what the pilot can see from above – did it turn him back?

R’s- No regular rhyme scheme employed but sounds of ‘f’ and ‘s’ used to create a soft rhythm like airplane movement.

THEMES- (link to Power and Conflict – exam question)POWER: power, prestige and honour awarded to dead kamikaze pilots – loss of power if they fail. Power of public opinion – the man is shunned for failing.CONFLICT: within the pilot and for the reader: is it better to live and be hated for failing or die without living for honour and the glory of war?

STRUCTURE – seven, six-line stanzas but only three whole sentences throughout, reflecting the oral nature of story-telling. The time and perspective shifts should be noted (different characters and different generations telling and receiving the story).

This poem is about:

The poem describes a journey around London, offering a glimpse of what the speaker sees as the terrible conditions faced by the inhabitants of the city. Child labour, restrictive laws of property and prostitution are all explored by Blake, a Romantic poet who hated social injustice.


• Urban living: the terrible conditions for people living in London is explored – poverty, deprivation, crime, sickness etc.

• Social injustice: powerful institutions (church, Government, royalty) cannot free people, if anything they cause injustice

Key Quotes:

“mind-forged manacles”: alliteration and image of minds in chains –everybody he sees is oppressed“marks of weakness, marks of woe”: repetition of ‘marks’ suggests society has scarred inhabitants with misery“black’ning” “hearse” “midnight”: word choice reflects death, despair and darkness

Compare with:

London

FORM- Dramatic monologue where the narrator describes his journey through London for us to experience with him.

LANGUAGE- Vivid imagery to depict social conditions. Alliteration, repetition and metaphor used throughout to describe oppression and captivity

IMAGERY- The Thames which places this firmly in London – the urban centre of the UK at the time. Darkness is mentioned throughout the poem too.

R’s- Regular rhyme scheme of ABAB (alternate rhyme). The poem comes from a collection called ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ so reflects the song/nursery rhyme tradition but the themes are in contrast to tradition

THEMES- (link to Power and Conflict – exam question)POWER: those in powerful positions do nothing to aid others and social injustice thrivesCONFLICT: between classes (wealthy versus poor). The poet is also critical so perhaps feels conflict with the powerful institutions he mentions.

STRUCTURE – four, four-line stanzas all of regular length with regular rhyme scheme throughout which reflects the story-telling/song traditions used with children. ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ included a number of poems about the loss of innocence for children because of social injustices.

This poem is about:

A duke talking to a visitor about a portrait of his dead wife. We suspect that he may have killed her because he suspected her of being unfaithful.

The poem, written by Robert Browning, is probably based on Duke Alfonso II of Italy.


• Power can be evil• Self-love: Duke is arrogant and self-

entitled• Art as a preserver: his dead wife

now remains his belonging through Art

Key Quotes:

“since none puts by the curtain … for you, but I”: first person perspective demonstrates power and curtain connotes captivity/cover up/secrets“all smiles stopped together”: possible metaphor for Duchess’s death“Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea horse”: metaphor for power the Duke has and has maintained

Compare with:

My Last Duchess by Browning

FORM- A dramatic monologue where, even though he has someone with him, the Duke dominates the conversation. The iambic pentameter makes the poem sound like natural speech but the lack of pausing/breaking suggests a need for total control.

LANGUAGE- Metaphors used throughout to convey themes of power, jealousy and death.

IMAGERY- A wealthy and materialistic Duke with many possessions. Works of Art are referenced a lot and the Duchess is portrayed as flirty.

R’s- Rhyming couplets make the narrator seem organised and educated. This reflects his status but could be masking the upset and lack of control he felt with the late Duchess (enjambement)

THEMES- (link to Power and Conflict – exam question)POWER: Duke has power over others (visitor as well as late wife)CONFLICT: Between Duke and his late wife over his possessiveness, also Duke’s expectations versus Duchess’s behaviour.

STRUCTURE – The Duke flits from one subject to another very quickly, which could be interpreted as instability or a compulsive need to control the conversation. Similarly while enjambement could be interpreted as reflection of normal speech, it could also represent panic/instability.

This poem is about:

This poem is a story by a ‘traveller’ who has visited Egypt. He tells of the statue of Ozymandias, a great, yet fierce ruler at one time, but now the statue is crumbling into the sand.

A romantic poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley which criticises those in powerful positions (Kings)

Key Themes and Ideas:

• Time is the greatest power on earth – it destroys the statue and Ozymandias’ legacy too

• Power can be evil• Self-love – Ozymandias wants to

preserve himself and his legacy because he adores himself

• Art is a preserver – statues and monuments can show history

Key Quotes:

“King of Kings”: repetition demonstrates arrogance, self-love and power of Ozymandias“Nothing beside remains”: time has conquered the statue and Ozy’s legacy – key Romantic idea“Boundless and bare”: alliteration demonstrating loss of power

Compare with:

Ozymandias by Shelley

FORM- This poem is a sonnet which reflects Ozy’s self-love (unusual use of sonnet form). Volta (change in tone of the poem) occurs at ‘Nothing beside remains’ where message of the poem is revealed – time is all powerful.

LANGUAGE- The verb choice is quite aggressive which could reflect the king’s corruption and power e.g. “stamp’d/ mock’d”. Alliteration of “boundless and bare” reflects emptiness of power/Ozy’s legacy. The statue is a metaphorfor all human life (it all ends).

IMAGERY- Sense of grandeur “antique/ colossal /visage”. Imagery of the statue now decaying in a vast desert reflects contrast of power and decay or human power and natural power. Remember Shelley is a Romantic poet so favours nature and despises imposed power such as royalty/aristocracy.

R’s- The traditional sonnet rhyme scheme (ABABCDCDEFEFGG) is lost in this poem, which suggests things are out of balance or that power is being lost.

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: Ozymandias held power once but it is lost. Time is more powerfulCONFLICT: Between nature and materialism or for Shelley himself: writing about Ozymandias/using Art immortalises him!

STRUCTURE – 14 lines, traditional sonnet with a volta to change the tone and introduce the message which is delivered at the end. Multiple perspectives/voices: poet, traveller and Ozymandias

This poem is about:The poem is set in the present day but reaches right back to the beginning of the Poppy Day tradition. Armistice Sunday began as a way of marking the end of the First World War in 1918. When Poppies was written, British soldiers were still dying in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the poem is written from a Mother to her son, who appears to have been lost in a conflict.


• Time: a powerful thing that moves quickly and can heal but doesn’t always

• Memories: painful• It is as if the present holds too

much pain and her memories can only be expressed if distanced in imagery held safely in the past

Key Quotes:

‘spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade/of yellow’: description of the blazer uses violent/war imagery juxtaposed against bright colour of boy’s clothing‘the world overflowing/like a treasure chest’: simile explores a mother letting go of her son into the world

Compare with:

Poppies

FORM- Elegy style poem that reveals the inner sadness of a mother over the death of her son. Significantly 19 out of 35 lines are broken with caesuras (commas or full stops) which reflects the sadness beneath her calm exterior.

LANGUAGE- Juxtaposition of the closeness between mother and son with words such as ‘blockade’, ‘spasms’ and ‘disrupting’, which may recall her son’s violent death. Metaphors of door (to the world) and song-bird (mother setting her child free).

IMAGERY- Closeness of mother and son through techniques such as alliteration: ‘bias binding … blazer’ when she does up his uniform and key images such as the recall of playing ‘eskimos’ when her son was small.

R’s- No rhyme as this would appear inappropriate in this context.

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: The power of love to motivate and death to destroy. Time – it speeds past.CONFLICT: Mother’s conflict with a present she doesn’t want to live in; she wishes for the past to return so she does not have to face her loss.

STRUCTURE – The time sequence keeps changing along with her emotions. It goes from "Three days before" (line 1) to "Before you left" (line 3) to "After you'd gone" (line 23) to "later" (line 25) and the present in "this is where it has led me" on line 26. It ends with her suspended, on the hill, between the present and the past.

This poem is about:

An anecdotal poem in first person from the perspective of a soldier who is recounting events while in the Army. Some of the events haunt him but drink and drugs do not aid his guilt and the sense of trauma he feels. He questions whether the man was actually innocent.


• Guilt: narrator is haunted by the guilt of taking a man’s life

• Conflict: the soldier has no choice but to follow orders – internal conflict between sworn oath and moral conscience

• Life and death

Key Quotes:‘Well myself and somebody else and somebody else/ are all of the same mind,’: repetition of ‘somebody else’ suggests soldiers are nameless and in some ways identical‘tosses his guts back into his body’: graphic imagery reinforces the horror of soldier experience‘End of story, except not really’: idiom ‘end of story’ casual suggestion the issue is resolved but guilt haunts

Compare with:

Remains

FORM- Monologue written in first person. Enjambement adds to the sense that the narrator is telling their story naturally; the narrator’s story is almost flowing out of him unchecked

LANGUAGE- Colloquial language used throughout to reflect the soldier experience and comradery (they all speak casually and comfortably to one another).

IMAGERY- Graphic imagery throughout to reinforce horror of conflict and trauma. Images of guilt include the bloody hands of the narrator at the end.

R’s- Repetition of ‘somebody else’ suggests soldiers are a nameless body of recruits without individual identities and ‘probably armed, possibly not’ suggests there is an internal conflict between following orders and thinking for yourself in this job

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: the soldier has no power – he must only follow ordersCONFLICT: internal conflict of following orders and moral conscience

STRUCTURE – The final stanza consists of only two lines and therefore stands out, emphasising the fact the speaker cannot rid himself of the memory of the killing. It could also imply disintegration in the speaker’s state of mind.

This poem is about:

The Prelude is a long autobiographical poem shows the spiritual growth of the poet, how he comes to terms with who he is, and his place in nature and the world. This extract describes an incident when Wordsworth went out on a boat – an experience which troubled him for several days.


• The power of nature over humanity –a key Romantic idea

• Loneliness: Wordsworth is often alone in episodes of The Prelude and experiences greater emotional realisations when alone

• Night/Dark: a powerful entity that has a profound impact on sensibility

Key Quotes:

‘spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade/of yellow’: description of the blazer uses violent/war imagery juxtaposed against bright colour of boy’s clothing‘the world overflowing/like a treasure chest’: simile explores a mother letting go of her son into the world

Compare with:

Stealing the Boat – Extract from The Prelude

FORM- The Prelude is described as an ‘epic poem’. Epics are very long andusually deal with exciting, action-packed heroic events. Although many of the events Wordsworth writes about are 'ordinary' they are given an epic quality, to fully describe the impact they had on his life.

LANGUAGE- Personification of the mountain to create drama in its ‘attack’ on him and of the boat who Wordsworth claims ‘leads’ him to the experience with the mountain.

IMAGERY- Imagery of the night time is reminiscent of gothic tales, again creating a darker, more ‘epic’ setting than it may have actually been.

R’s- Blank Verse: unrhymed lines of poetry that follow a regular pattern meant to emulate natural speech but often used when discussing lofty or refined ideas (Shakespeare did this too).

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: The power of nature over humanityCONFLICT: Inner conflict following the event where Wordsworth realises nature’s power.

STRUCTURE – No stanzas, written like a story in itself despite being an extract from the full poem. Conversational in tone as if Wordsworth is relaying events in person – use of frequent ‘ands’ indicates this.

This poem is about:

The poem describes the experience of being in a cliff-top cottage on an island off the coast of Ireland during a storm. Heaney describes the bare ground, the sea and the wind. The people in the cottage are extremely isolated and can do nothing against the powerful and violent weather.


• The power of nature over humanity• Fear: human beings cannot control

the elements and have no idea how they’ll effect them despite how prepared they may feel

Key Quotes:

‘We are prepared: we build our houses squat...’: pronoun ‘we’ suggests narrator is not alone; could reflect humanity overall‘We just sit tight while wind dives And strafes invisibly’: verbs used to describe wind’s movement and reflect narrator’s powerlessness

Compare with:

Storm on the Island

FORM- A monologue delivered by the narrator (Heaney) of 19 lines depicting the storm. No stanzas may reflect the unpredictable nature of the weather.

LANGUAGE- Simile used to describe the sea (‘a tame cat’) and metaphors to describe the wind and its power. Personification is used throughout to describe the land and weather helping us appreciate its features/power.

IMAGERY- The wind has become a powerful predator in this storm, reminding the reader of its power.

R’s- Written in blank verse reflecting the natural story-telling style of the narrator

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: The power of nature over humanityCONFLICT: Between humans and elements – they will not be controlled.

STRUCTURE – The poem consists of nineteen lines of blank verse - unrhyminglines each containing five beats or feet. This verse form (much used by Shakespeare) follows the natural patterns of spoken English, so we feel that Heaney is talking to us. Enjambement used to reflect the storm’s abruptness.

This poem is about:

A displaced person pictures the country and the city where he or she was born. Neither the city nor the country is ever named; it is as if Rumens wants her poem to be relevant to as many people who have left their homelands as possible. Emigrée- is a feminine form of emigrant and suggests the speaker of the poem is a woman.


• Power of place/location on humans• Memories and nostalgia: despite any

problems, time and distance can give a rosier view of places and events

• Exile/displacement: the narrator mentions political unrest and war, perhaps reasons for leaving, creating empathy for those who are displaced for reasons out of their control.

Key Quotes:‘sick with tyrants’: metaphor to describe the city’s situation‘I am branded by an impression of sunlight’: contrasts with the metaphor above to show the narrator’s love for her city‘banned by the state/but I can’t get it off my tongue’: metaphor shows narrator’s indulgence in nostalgia – she knows the truth but still does not change her view of her city

Compare with:

The Emigree

FORM- A monologue from a distinctly feminine narrator (emigree is feminine form of emigrant) who reflects on the city of her childhood – nostalgia prevents her from seeing the reality of the city in the present.

LANGUAGE- Metaphors used throughout to describe the relationship the narrator has with her old home. Juxtaposition of dark, unrest and an oppressive regime against ‘sunlight’ or light demonstrates power of nostalgia.

IMAGERY- Similes used to build images of a war-torn city and the physicalbarriers the narrator feels between where she is now and where she was

R’s- No rhyming pattern. 5 stresses in each line but these don’t formulate into a specific rhythm perhaps reflecting complexity of relationship between people and places they have previously loved.

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: The power of nostalgia/childhood memory to mask negativityCONFLICT: Between memory and reality

STRUCTURE – The poem is composed of three stanzas. The first two stanzas are eight lines each and the last stanza has nine lines. Why there’s an extra line is unclear. Perhaps it suggests the speaker just can’t let go of the memories and just doesn’t want the poem to end?

This poem is about:

The narrator explores the uses of paper demonstrating how important itis in our lives. She also explores the fragility of tissue, specifically human tissue and though the meaning is unclear, she could be suggesting that paper will outlive the memory and importance of human beings.


• Power of paper to record our lives and give longevity to important ideas

• Instability/fragility: tissue is fragile, particularly in humans, paper is also fragile but important

Key Quotes:

‘find a way to trace a grand design/ with living tissue, raise a structure/ never meant to last’: metaphor ‘grand design’ reminiscent of God’s grand design i.e. human beings‘this/ is what could alter things’: paper has power to change/record just as human tissue changes – we grow with wisdom over time? ‘Alter’ = change

Compare with:

Tissue

FORM- A pensive poem musing on human life. The poet uses enjambment, running meaning between lines and across stanza breaks. This adds to the flowing, delicate nature - both of paper and of the human lives the poet compares the tissue to.

LANGUAGE- Paper and tissue are extended metaphors for human skin and life including our power and fragility. Adjectives used throughout to explore the uses and qualities of paper.

IMAGERY- A series of images used to highlight the numerous uses of paper by humans

R’s- unrhymed, irregular quatrains which can be seen to represent the irregularity of life and the flimsy nature of the tissue paper the poem refers to.

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: The power of paper to record/build and peopleCONFLICT: Between human power and our own fragility?

STRUCTURE – First 6 stanzas explore power of paper to record our lives/beliefs, last 4 stanzas explore creation with the last line definitively linking paper and people exploring our power and fragility.

This poem is about:

Duffy was inspired to write this poem by her friendship with a war photographer. She was especially intrigued by the peculiar challenge faced by these people whose job requires them to record terrible, horrific events without being able to directly help their subjects.


• Horror of war• Moral dilemma of the war

photographer: help or document?• Indifference to victims/over-

exposure to horror – are we less sympathetic?

Key Quotes:

‘spools of suffering’: imagery/ vocabulary merges photographer’s development procedure with the horror developing on the film‘He has a job to do’: simple sentence reflects the clinical/methodical nature of the photographer and hints at the lack of emotion due to overexposure or a determination to document horror.

Compare with:

War Photographer

FORM- Narrative poem in third person, perhaps Duffy reflecting on the job of a war photographer, something she seemed to become interested in.

LANGUAGE- Juxtaposition between England and war-torn areas as well as photography development studios with war. Further contrasts highlighted in the ‘hundred agonies’ the photographer captures and the ‘five or six’ editors select.

IMAGERY- Horrific war imagery used throughout e.g. ‘to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet /of running children’ to try to create a sense of realism and empathy, though reader empathy is questioned by the poet.

R’s- Rhyming couplets throughout which contrasts starkly with the horrific subject matter perhaps reflecting the reader’s indifference to horror – they go about their normal lives unaffected by these images.

THEMES- (link to power and conflict: likely exam question)POWER: Questions the power of horrific images on the publicCONFLICT: Moral dilemma of the war photographer to document horror to show the world or to help in the immediacy of the moment.

STRUCTURE – 4, six-line stanzas, with each stanza ending in a rhyming couplet. This rigid order contrasts with the chaotic, disturbing images described in the poem perhaps reflecting the methodical approach of photographic journalists in developing images for publications.

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