War photographer

• 'spools of suffering set out in ordered rows'

  • repetative cycle of images, like they are haunting him
  • sibilance,evil s=snake
  • images of the torment he has witnessed
  • continuous stream of grotesque images
• 'half formed ghosts'

  • metaphor
  • literaly the photos image starting to develop
  • even the ghosts didnt come back in one peice
  • death he has witnessed
  • pale imitations of the suffering in real life
  • haunting
• 'the readers eyeball pricked with tears between the bath and pre lunch beers'

  • a small drop of emotion
  • veiwer desentisised to the violence, the photos dont have the effect they should
  • small amount of pain for a small amount of time
  • the reader will quickly forget the photos
• 'blood stained into foreign dust'

  • reflects the blood shed
  • cant get rid of it
  • lasting impact of war
  • reminder this is happening somewhere else
• 'nightmare heat'

  • heat from explosions/gass attacks
  • haunting and reacuring
  • metaphor
  • torment your psyche
• context:

  • Duffy was friends with a war photographer
  • gives a voice to the voiceless just like a war photographer
• Themes:

  • effects of conflict
  • reality of conflict
  • memory
  • anger
  • guilt individual experience
• Structure

  • Follows the actions and thoughts of a photographer in his dark room
  • Distinct change at the start of the 3rd Stanza where the photographer remembers a specific death
  • In the 4th Stanza the focus shifts to the way the photographer's work is received