war photographer

• “dark room”

  word choice - dark has denotations of low visibility and a mentally bleak place this suggests the photographer is in there to develop his photos
• ”finally alone”

  word choice - finally has denotations longing and suggests he’s been desperate for solitude
• “ordered rows”

  word choice - rows has denotations of neat and patterns and suggests the idea of the dead bodies layer out as a result of war
• ”light is red”

  word choice - red has denotations of anger and danger and subtly evers to the danger and blood of war.
• ”all flesh is grass”

  metaphor - just as grass is widespread so too is the flesh of the dead bodies caused by war
• ”solutions slop in trays”

  word choice - slop has denotations of messy and liquid-like this suggests he solutions he’s putting the photos in are messy to deal with.
• “ordinary pain”

  oxymoron - in, by definition is meant to be unexpected and sore, but the pain the photographer is in is just simple unhappiness that ca be cured.
• ”explode beneath the feet”

  word choice - explode has denotations of unexpected and shocking suggesting destruction and death
• “nightmare heat”

  word choice - nightmare has denotations of scary an horror suggesting these tragedies are so horrible they’re deemed as a real life scare show.
• “a strangers features.”


  word choice - stranger has denotations of someone you don’t know and suggests the man in the photo was unknown to the photographer and just another victim of war to him.
• ”twist before his eyes”

  word choice - twist has denotations of pain and anguish and suggests the man in the photo is horrified, dying or in pain.
• ”a half-formed ghost”

  metaphor - just as ghosts haunt so too is the man in this photo, and suggests the photo is haunted by his memory.
• “blood stained”

  word choice - stained has detonations of being soaked deep and uneasy to get rid of and suggests the photograph is soaked by the mans memory.
• “a hundred agonies”

  word choice - agony has denotations of pain and horror and suggests the pain of the pohotographer taking the photos.
• “prick with tears”

  word choice - prick has denotations of almost, or nearly and suggests the sensation of readers almost crying.
• “impassively”

  word choice - impassively has denotations of thoughtless and emotionless suggesting the photographer is immune to his job
• What is the setting of “War Photographer”?

  In his dark room.
• What does “spools of suffering” suggest about the photographer's work?

  It indicates the painful subjects he captures.
• How does the comparison to a priest enhance the poem's tone?

  It emphasizes the solemnity of his work.
• What does the phrase “All flesh is grass” imply?

  Life is transitory and fragile.
• What does the photographer feel when developing photos?

  He feels tension and fear.
• What does “ordinary pain” refer to in the poem?

  Day-to-day issues people experience.
• What does “nightmare heat” suggest about the conditions in war zones?

  It indicates disturbing and terrifying circumstances.
• What does the phrase “a half-formed ghost” imply about the photograph?

  It captures a moment between life and death.
• What does the phrase “blood stained into foreign dust” suggest?

  It highlights the permanence of violence.
• What does the contrast between “a hundred agonies” and “five or six” imply?

  It shows the limited representation of suffering.
• What do readers do after seeing the photographs?

  They return to their daily routines.
• What does “impassively” suggest about the photographer's feelings towards his country?

  He feels disillusioned and indifferent.
• What does “they do not care” imply about the photographer's perception of his fellow Brits?

  He believes they are indifferent to suffering.