N5 Scottish Text Carol Ann Duffy ‘War Photographer’

War Photographer Locate the quote See if you can find a quote from the poem to support each of the pictures. Write it on this sheet. Print out – students can add quotations Challenge: If you finish, choose a quote from the poem, describe the image you would pair with that quote.

What do you think the mood/tone of the poem is? Think-Pair-Share What do you think the mood/tone of the poem is? Find 3 quotations that you think add to the mood or tone of the poem.

Revision of poetic techniques… Evidence of technique from W.P Effect/Purpose Alliteration ‘spools of suffering’ The ‘s’ is quite a long drawn out sound which could emphasise the photographer having lots of rolls of film showing/documenting lots of suffering. Rhyme Personification Symbolism Simile/Metaphor Imagery

What’s with the weird words? Darkroom- a dark room in which film (photos were taken on rolls of film before digital cameras and smart phones were invented) is slowly turned into photographs- it would be dipped in special liquids before drying for a couple of days to slowly develop. Spools- the reels of camera film stock- cameras didn’t always have SD cards! Belfast: Northern Ireland’s capital city. Belfast suffered from IRA terrorist attacks on soldiers and police officers throughout the 20th Century. Beirut: Captial city of Lebanon (middle East) which suffered massive damage and huge casualties during a civil war which ran from 1975-1990. Phnom Penh: Cambodia’s capital city. This Asian country was controlled by the Khmer Rogue regime who murdered more than a million of its own citizens between 1975 and 1979.

Adjectives Describing Mood and Tone… Solemn Depressing Haunting Challenging Sorrowful Determined Solitary Unhappy Miserable Disheartening Frightening Overwhelming Demoralising Disturbing Alarming Unsettling

Model Answer - PEE I think Duffy creates a solemn tone in the poem ‘War Photographer’. A quote to prove this is, “In this darkroom, he is finally alone”. This is the first line of the poem, setting the tone for the following stanzas. I think it sounds solemn because the photographer is ‘finally’ alone with his thoughts, remembering all the suffering he has seen whilst taking photographs in war zones. This must be a difficult time for him, bringing back all the horrors he has seen at war at the same time as feeling compelled to share these images with the public. P E A

Annotating the poem In his dark room he is finally alone ---the man works in the dark (connotations of evil and fear) and is alone with his work with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. ---use of assonance creates calm setting. “ordered rows” links to soldiers in formation or war graves in lines The only light is red and softly glows, ---red links to blood/ danger. Constant light links to idea of a candle in a church as though this were a church and he ---simile used to compare the photographer to a priest and his dark room to a church. Contrasts with religion symbolic of hope and peace

Annotating the poem a priest preparing to intone a Mass. ---plosive sounds (repeated p’s) used echo sound of gunfire and break peaceful atmosphere. A mass would be quiet and respectful church service Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. ---list of places the man has been working. Full stops create pauses allowing reader to think of these places and what happened there. “All flesh is grass” is a biblical quote about the fragility of life. This further develops the religious theme STRUCTURE: Each stanza is set out in ordered rows (see line 2 notes) and follows a set rhyme scheme (ABBCDD) which supports his search for order and contrasts with the disorder of the photographer’s life.

Annotating the poem He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays ---the man focuses on his job. This first sentence is simple and monosyllabic- he is focused and unemotional just like a soldier in war. “solutions” describes chemicals but also suggests importance of his work as his photos could help provide solutions to violent disputes beneath his hands, which did not tremble then ---”then” shows us that although the photographer was unemotional whilst taking the photos he is now feeling the emotions as his hands begin to “tremble” though seem to now. Rural England. Home again ---contrast of the man’s peaceful setting in his “rural England” home

Annotating the poem to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, ---”ordinary pain” describes all of our everyday trivial problems which can easily be resolved by “simple weather” to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet ---contrast of our simple pain with real problems and dangers faced in other countries as fields are filled with landmines of running children in a nightmare heat. ---poet creates a powerful image of innocent children running from a nightmare. Look at the image of the Vietnamese children and consider why Duffy conjures up this iconic war photograph STRUCTURE: Enjambment used throughout poem in contrast to many focused sentences. This mirrors the photographer’s attempts to contain his emotions and restore order to his thoughts.

Annotating the poem “Something is happening. A stranger’s features” ---shift in purpose and intensity as “something is happening”. Photographer is now focused on one image of someone who is a stranger to him “faintly start to twist before his eyes,” ---we get the impression the photographer is not in control as the image “twists before his eyes” “a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries” ---”half-formed” could suggest the image is only half developed or that the man had suffered a terrible injury. The memory of the “cries” injects more senses into what has been a visual only journey so far “of this man’s wife, how he sought approval” ---we understand that the photographer has had to ask the woman’s permission in order to take the photo- this shows the respect he has for the people he photographs and their situations. This image also shows us how “close to the action” he has been

Annotating the poem “without words to do what someone must” ---”what someone must” suggests this is more than a job for the man- it is an important calling. “without words” suggests that he could not speak the woman’s language or that words were not appropriate at the time. Much like a priest, the photographer is performing some of the last rites and is with the next of kin at a scene of death “and how the blood stained into foreign dust”. --- “stained” creates impression of a permanent mark, both on the ground and on the photographer, whilst “dust” suggests it could easily be blown away. “Foreign” reminds us that this death happened far away. “Dust to dust” is a phrase used at funeral services and so develops image of death and links to religious theme. STRUCTURE: The third stanza shifts from general overview to one specific memory and one specific photograph.

Annotating the poem “A hundred agonies in black and white” ---we can see how many horrific images the photographer has seen/ captured. “Agonies” suggests he has witnessed extreme pain. The photographs would initially appear in black and white- this suggests images of truth but also that they are clear in his mind “from which his editor will pick out five or six” ---”his editor” shows that what happens to his photographs is not decided by the photographer. “or” suggests a casual decision whilst just five from a hundred highlights how many images do not make our news feeds “for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick” ---the photos only make the extra pages on the Sunday edition (they are considered not important enough for the main weekly paper). “prick” suggest a small reaction- the readers are desensitised to such images and do not care about the suffering of others

Annotating the poem “with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.” ---any sadness the readers feel will be lost between a relaxing bath and getting drunk down the pub. The photographers efforts have had almost no impact on the public “From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where” ---the photographer is travelling again- presumably to another war. “Stares impassively” suggests that he no longer cares about his home and the people who live in Britain- he is detached emotionally from them all. “he earns his living and they do not care.” ---the poem ends with the photographer’s anger at the uncaring public. The poet is making us think about whether we do care or if we have become so used to seeing such images that we no longer react to them as we should. STRUCTURE: The poem begins with the photo’s being taken to the dark room and follows their journey to the newspaper pages where they reach the readers.