War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy
“War Photographer" is a poem written by Carol Ann Duffy. The poem
explores the dual nature of a war photographer's profession,
examining the contrast between the photographer's experiences in
war zones and the detached reception of the images by the people
back home.
'In his dark room he is finally alone / with spools of suffering set
out in ordered rows'
Duffy begins with a trochaic metre in the first line; however, it
soon changes into an iambic metre on the second line. This
immediately unsettles the readers as they are puzzled.
Duffy uses symbolism, through the 'dark room' as it is literally
the place where old movies used to be developed, with 'spools'
of film that contained the movie. This suggests that 'his'
purpose is dark. This makes the reader's question if the
photographer is a dark person or recording a dark event.
The metaphor 'spools of suffering' conveys that each
photograph is presenting suffering.
Moreover, there is also an alliteration of 'spools' and suffering.
There is a soft sound, but also a threatening feel.
There is an allusion to death because the semantic field that we
are given is of a graveyard, where the bodies are placed in
'ordered rows.' This sort of image is an image of dead bodies
from wars.
'A half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries / of this man's
wife, how he sought approval'
Duffy utilises a metaphor. As the image is being developed it
feels like a ‘half-formed ghost’ because as the image develops
“War Photographer" is a poem written by Carol Ann Duffy. The poem
explores the dual nature of a war photographer's profession,
examining the contrast between the photographer's experiences in
war zones and the detached reception of the images by the people
back home.
'In his dark room he is finally alone / with spools of suffering set
out in ordered rows'
Duffy begins with a trochaic metre in the first line; however, it
soon changes into an iambic metre on the second line. This
immediately unsettles the readers as they are puzzled.
Duffy uses symbolism, through the 'dark room' as it is literally
the place where old movies used to be developed, with 'spools'
of film that contained the movie. This suggests that 'his'
purpose is dark. This makes the reader's question if the
photographer is a dark person or recording a dark event.
The metaphor 'spools of suffering' conveys that each
photograph is presenting suffering.
Moreover, there is also an alliteration of 'spools' and suffering.
There is a soft sound, but also a threatening feel.
There is an allusion to death because the semantic field that we
are given is of a graveyard, where the bodies are placed in
'ordered rows.' This sort of image is an image of dead bodies
from wars.
'A half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries / of this man's
wife, how he sought approval'
Duffy utilises a metaphor. As the image is being developed it
feels like a ‘half-formed ghost’ because as the image develops
