War Photographer

• War Photographer in a nutshell

  War Photographer was written by the poet Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2019. Published in 1985, War Photographer depicts the solitary experience of a photographer at home in England developing photographs taken in conflicts around the world. The poem comments on the personal distress of the photographer at what they have seen in warzones, and how people back home respond.
• War Photographer breakdown

  Lines 1-2

  “In his dark room he is finally alone

  with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.”

  Translation

  • The poem narrates the moment a war photographer begins to develop the photographs taken in warzones:
  • A dark room is a room with low lighting designed for processing film 
  • The narrator describes the spools of film containing images which display the tragedies of those in conflict
• Duffy’s intention

  • Duffy alerts readers to a moment of relief for the photographer when he is alone in his dark room:
  • This implies the photographer’s distress in the external world 
  • Duffy highlights the many painful images the photographer has taken in conflict which he is about to process
• Lines 3-5

  “The only light is red and softly glows,

  as though this were a church and he

  a priest preparing to intone a Mass.” 

  Translation

  • Duffy sets the scene with soft red light and religious imagery
  • She compares the photographer’s task with a religious ceremony
  • Taking Mass or taking the sacrament is a ritual in Catholicism which represents sacrifice
• Duffy’s intention

  • Duffy evokes a solemn mood to present the significance of his work
  • She compares the processing of photographs of war with a religious ritual of sacrifice
  • The allusion to sacrifice highlights the sacrifice of those in the photographs
• Line 6

  “Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.”

  Translation

  • The poet lists several places of conflict, referring to Ireland’s troubles and civil wars in Lebanon and Cambodia
  • The line, “All flesh is grass”, is a biblical reference which suggests life is temporary

  Duffy’s intention

  • Duffy’s list of warzones connects the photographer’s “spools of suffering” to particular places, highlighting the reality of the persona's job
  • Duffy refers to a famous photograph, “The Terrors of War”, to remind readers of the power photography can have
  • The biblical line alludes to the fleeting lives of those in the photographer’s photos
• Lines 7-8

  “He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays

  beneath his hands, which did not tremble then”

  Translation

  • Here, the narrator tells us the photographer sees his work as a job which must be completed, a duty
  • The photographer, now developing the photographs, feels the impact of his memories where before he had to keep a steady hand

  Duffy's intention

  • The narrator begins to explain the photographer’s feelings about his task to convey the perspective of a war photographer
  • The narrator explains that he finds it emotionally painful to remember the conflicts he has witnessed 
  • Whereas before he had to stay in control, here, the photographer begins to weaken
• Lines 9-12

  “though seem to now. Rural England. Home again

  to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,

  to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet

  of running children in a nightmare heat.”

  Translation

  • The narrator comments on how life in England is ordinary compared to warzones:
  • Duffy refers to the weather as something that causes people pain but can easily change
  • The narrator refers to a warzone filled with landmines and bombs:
  • The reference to children running through “nightmare heat” alludes to a famous photograph of a child running from a bomb in Phnom Penh 
• Duffy’s intention

  • These lines present a contrast between life in the English countryside and life in warzones to show the photographer’s displacement:
  • The phrase “ordinary pain” contrasts the violent action of “children running” to show the problems in England as trivial compared to those in areas of conflict
  • Duffy’s contrast of bad weather and “nightmare heat” shows how different things are in England compared with war-torn areas 
  • She highlights the devastation of conflict on vulnerable children
• Lines 13-15

  “Something is happening. A stranger’s features

  faintly start to twist before his eyes,

  a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries”

  Translation

  • The persona describes the moment the photograph begins to develop and the image of a man caught up in conflict begins to form in the film
  • This reminds him of the moment he took the photograph

  Duffy’s intention

  • These lines depict the slow-forming image reminding the photographer of the horrors of conflict:
  • The “half-formed ghost” implies the person in the photo was killed in conflict 
  • Duffy depicts the agony of the man and how vividly clear the memory is to the photographer, conveying the suffering experienced by all involved in conflict
• Lines 16-18

  “of this man’s wife, how he sought approval

  without words to do what someone must

  and how the blood stained into foreign dust.”

  Translation

  • The persona refers back to the moment he asked if he could take the photograph
  • He refers to the man’s death in vivid description

  Duffy’s intention

  • Duffy depicts the difficult moment the photographer intruded into others’ tragedy:
  • The speaker implies a sense of duty to take the photograph
  • The modal verb “must” shows his sense of moral obligation to try to change things
  • The vivid description implies the photographer is haunted by the images and highlights again the distance between England and the war zones
• Lines 19-22

  “A hundred agonies in black and white

  from which his editor will pick out five or six

  for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick

  with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.”

  Translation

  • The narrator represents the tragedies in the photographs as numerous and with much suffering 
  • Referring back to the photographer’s job, the narrator tells readers that of all the images developed, only a few will make it into the newspaper
  • Duffy describes how the readers respond to the photographs: a temporary sadness that  is quickly replaced by daily activities

  Duffy’s intention

  • Referring to the many photographs, Duffy emphasises the death toll and the impact of war to evoke sympathy from the reader
  • Indirectly taking on the voice of the photographer, the narrator suggests the response from the readers, despite the sacrifices of those involved, is brief and temporary
• • Duffy implies the English public is desensitised to war and the individual suffering of those involved
• Lines 23-24

  “From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where

  he earns his living and they do not care.”

  Translation

  • The poem ends with the photographer back on the aeroplane going to his next job
  • The description of the photographer, looking down “impassively” on England, tells us he feels numb towards his homeland
  • The third-person reference “they” refers to the public below

  Duffy’s intention

  • Duffy’s poem ends without resolution to show the futility of the photographer’s job and the continuous and unrelenting nature of war
  • Duffy’s cynical tone comments on how the public have become numb and desensitised to tragedy in war
  • She suggests the photographer does not feel similar to his compatriots at home and is therefore left isolated and frustrated
• Form

  The poem is a rigid, third-person narration depicting a war photographer’s complex emotions as he processes the photographs he has taken in warzones.

  
• Structure

  The poem follows a cyclical structure which ends with the photographer going back to warzones, suggesting the futility of his work, as well as a sense of continuing conflict.

  
• Language

  Duffy’s imagery describes a variety of settings, from a dark room in rural England to conflict zones around the world. The contrasting imagery conveys the very different lives of those involved in conflict to those safe at home.

  
• Language: War Photographer

  
• Language: War Photographer

  
• Context:

  • The wide-reaching impact of conflict
  • Suffering and powerlessness due to conflict
• The Wide-reaching impact of conflict

  • The poem, published in 1985, refers to a famous photograph called “The Terrors of War, taken during the Vietnam War:
  • The powerful image shows a naked, terrified child running away from an exploding bomb
  • The line “children running in nightmare heat” connotes to this photograph
  • In the photo a photographer can be seen taking a picture of the child
  • This image had a powerful impact on the public at the time, and raised debates about the moral duty of those witnessing conflict  
  • Referring to this photograph helps raise awareness of the wide-reaching impact war photography can have
  • The emotive reference to the children highlights how conflict affects even the innocent
• Suffering and Powerlessness due to conflict  

  • Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2019, was friends with two war photographers:
  • This may have influenced her to write from the perspective of a war photographer
  • In the poem, Duffy presents the photographer as haunted and traumatised by his work
  • This presents the suffering of all those involved in conflict
  • However, her poem encourages the public to pay closer attention to their work
  • Duffy’s poem depicts the suffering of a war photographer haunted by memories of the many horrors he has witnessed around the world:
  • She names international conflict zones he has been involved in to represent his repeated suffering
  • She refers to the troubles in Belfast and the conflict in Beirut to remind readers of the reality behind her poem
• • Duffy’s message is that these are just examples of the many conflicts around the world, and the photographer feels powerless to change things
• Given that War Photographer explores ideas of suffering and powerlessness due to conflict and the wide-reaching impact of conflict, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

  • War Photographer and Poppies 
  • War Photographer and Kamikaze
  • War Photographer and Remains
• War Photographer and Poppies 

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  This is an effective comparative choice to explore the impact of conflict on those other than soldiers themselves in order to present the wide-reaching impact of conflict. Both Duffy’s War Photographer and Weir’s Poppies present individual perspectives on powerlessness and suffering due to war. 

  Similarities:

  
• War Photographer and Poppies 

  
• Differences: War Photographer

  
• Differences: War Photographer

  
• War Photographer and Kamikaze

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  Both War Photographer and Kamikaze present personal and individual suffering due to conflict. The poems explore ideas related to the wide-reaching impact of conflict by describing a sense of powerlessness experienced by those involved.  

  Similarities:

  
• War Photographer and Kamikaze

  
• War Photographer and Kamikaze

  
• War Photographer and Kamikaze, Differences:

  
• War Photographer and Kamikaze, Differences:

  
• War Photographer and Remains

  Comparison in a nutshell:

  Both Duffy’s War Photographer and Armitage’s Remains highlight the unrelenting nature of suffering through haunting memories in the wake of war. 

  Similarities:

  
• War Photographer and Remains

  
• Differences: War Photographer and Remains

  
• Differences: War Photographer and Remains