War Photographer

• Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows
• All flesh is grass

  Biblical dark image, we all die d become earth again
• He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands

  Simple short sentences , focus on what he is doing
• Ordinary pain, simple weather can dispel

  Contrast of lives to others
• Fields which don't explode neath the feet of children running in a nightmare heat

  Contrasting show the plight of children, he feels guilty
• Eyeballs prick with tears between bath and pre lunch beers.

  Tone is Angry Pace is quick, shows we don't care
• He stared impassively

  He had to detach from the suffering
• Uses a cyclical structure
• “they do not care” what emotion does this emphasize


  . This emotion is further shown by collective pronoun “they” which creates an accusatory tone which could invoke feelings of guilt in the reader.
• without words to do what someone must

  Similar to light brigade for duty
• 100 agonies in black and white
• In his darkroom he is finally alone
• All flesh is grass?


  This is an allusion to the Bible, which essentially means "all life will end". This shows the photographer's detachment as the idea of death no longer seems shocking to him. Everyone dies eventually.
• His hands which did not seem to tremble then but seem to now?

  His hands "did not tremble" I the war zone, which suggests he was not upset by the experiences - again, this suggests detachment. However they do "seem to now", which may suggest that he is able to suppress his emotions at the time in order to do his job, but they actually do affect him subconsciously.
• A strange features slowly start to twist before my eyes, a half formed ghost?


  The word "stranger" reminds us of the photographer's detachment - he did not get to know this man and connect with him. "Twist" is ambiguous, as the photo is not yet clearly developed but the word also suggests the man's face is contorted in agony. The metaphor of "half formed ghost" again reminds us that the photo is still faint, but also suggests that the man is now dead.
• The readers eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre lunch beers?

  "prick with tears" tells u they are only slightly affected by the photos and their sadness is soon forgotten as they get on with their usual routine.
• Ordinary pain..Simpe weather can dispell?

  The word "ordinary" means normal and "simple" suggests easy to fix. They lessen the impact of the word "pain", suggesting that the only difficulties we experience are things like bad weather. They create contrast with the extreme conditions of the war zone
• Blood stained into foreign dust?

  The word "foreign" reminds us that people in the more developed parts of the world do not empathise fully with these images because they see them as happening far away. They cannot fully connect with what they see as it is so far removed from their way of life.
• They do not care?


  This is ambiguous - who is the "they"? He does not fit into either the war zone (because he knows he can soon go home safely and his loved ones are safe) or home (because others cannot relate to what he has seen). He is isolated and cannot connect to either set of people.
• STARE IMPASSIVELY?


  Again, the photographer suggests that it is just a job to him - detachment
• The only light is red and softly glows" Shows what?

  "red" usually symbolises danger and warning. This is in contrast to the word "softly" which connotes gentleness and comfort. This suggests that he does care about the people in the images, or that his isolation in his darkroom is comforting when developing them.
• As though he were a priest..." Shows what?

  This simile compares the job of a war photographer to the job of being a priest. They are both solitary, isolated jobs (priests cannot marry or have children) and both involve dealing with death and suffering (priests give the last rites). They are both jobs which are very difficult and not just anyone could do them.
• "fields which don't explode beneath the feet of running children in nightmare heat"?


  The contrast between the safe, ordered environment of home and the war zone is introduced here. "explode" connotes violence and danger, "nightmare" suggests the scene is so awful it seems unreal, "running" suggests panic and "children" reminds us that innocent people are being killed.
• What is enjambment , how does it impact?


  Enjambment is when a sentence or phrase runs over multiple lines of poetry. It impacts the flow and rhythm of the poem.

  It displays that the world is out of order and confused
• How does Carol Anne duffy use rhyming?


  To bring order to a chaotic world