Revision of Anthology poetry: power and conflict cluster. War Photographer CAROL ANN DUFFY

In his dark room he is finally alone War Photographer In his dark room he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands, which did not tremble then 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. Something is happening. A stranger’s features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approval without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust. 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. From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns his living and they do not care.

Giving an inanimate object a human quality. Intone Religious connotations – to speak (a prayer, poem, etc.) in a way that sounds like music or chanting Rural Of or relating to the country and the people who live there instead of the city Dispel To make (something, such as a belief, feeling, or idea) go away or end Supplement An extra part that is added to a book or newspaper Impassively Not showing emotion Metaphor When we say that something IS something else or something represents something else. Personification Giving an inanimate object a human quality. Alliteration Words in a sequence that begin with the same letter.

Carol Ann Duffy She is a Scottish poet who, in 2009, became the first woman to hold the post of Poet Laureate. ‘War Photographer’ was published in 1985 as a part of Duffy’s first collection, Standing Female Nude.

Context The imagery in line 12 (“of running children in a nightmare heat”) seems to reference a famous photo by another war photographer; Nick Ut. He took a photo of a nine year old Vietnamese girl during the Vietnam war. The photo shows the girl running naked towards the camera in extreme pain – she’d torn her clothes off after being severely burned when her village was hit by a napalm bomb. The photo was published on the front page of the New York Times and won a Pulitzer Prize.

Have we become desensitised to these things? Duffy was inspired to write this poem by her friendship with a war photographer. She was intrigued by the challenge faced by people whose job required them to record horrific events without being able to help those they’re photographing. By viewing this issue from the perspective of the photographer, she also reveals the difficulties of such an occupation. In the same way that photographers capture certain truths about the human condition, she uses words for this effect. Have we become desensitised to these things? Throughout the poem, Duffy provokes us to consider our own response when confronted with photographs we see regularly in papers etc.

What’s it about? A war photographer is in his darkroom, developing pictures that he’s taken in war zones across the world. Being back in England is a big contrast – it’s safe and calm compared to where he’s been. A photo begins to develop, and the photographer remembers the death of the man, and the cries of his wife. The final stanza focuses on the people in England who will see his photographs in their Sunday papers. The speaker thinks that they don’t really care about the people and places in the photographs.

Major themes in War Photographer: Other poems? The Prelude: Stealing the Boat My Last Duchess Remains Poppies The Emigrée Kamikaze Themes Other poems? The Charge of the Light Brigade Exposure Bayonet Charge Remains Poppies Major themes in War Photographer: Effects of conflict Reality of conflict Memory Anger Guilt Individual experiences Other poems? London Checking Out Me History Other poems? London The Prelude: Stealing the Boat Bayonet Charge Remains Poppies The Emigrée Kamikaze Other poems? The Charge of the Light Brigade Exposure Bayonet Charge Remains Other poems? Remains

Form and structure The poem is divided into four regular The poem is set out in ordered rows which is supposed to represent the photographer’s spools, echoing the care that the photographer takes over his work. The use of enjambment reflects the gradual revealing of the photo as it develops. into four regular six-line stanzas (each ending in a rhyming couplet) with a regular rhyme scheme. The style is almost clinical and matter of fact. This sense of distance may be a requirement for the photographer.

Form and structure Volta: A sudden change in thought or emotion. The poem follows the actions and thoughts of the photographer in his darkroom. “In his darkroom he is finally alone/with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” There’s a distinct change at the start of the third stanza, when the photographer remembers a specific death. “Something is happening” In the final stanza, the focus shifts to the way the photographer’s work is received. “…from which his editor will pick out five or six…where he earns his living and they do not care”

Personal response Language Atmosphere Content Emotions and ideas Be in the right PLACE… Personal response Language Atmosphere Content Emotions and ideas

Feelings and attitudes PAIN The photographs depict real pain (“A hundred agonies”) and there’s also the emotion pain of the woman who’s lost her husband. The horrific pain of war is contrasted with the “ordinary” pain back home. Anger The poem ends with a sense of anger at the people who don’t care about the suffering of others. Detachment The photographer is detached from his emotions in the war zones so he can do his job. The words “finally alone” and “impassively” suggest that he’s also detached from “ordinary” life in England.

Complete this bingo revision exercise to help you remember some of the features used.

Personal response. Answer these questions to help you come up with your own ideas about the poem: Why do you think the photographer’s hands tremble when he’s developing the photos? Do you think the photographer enjoys being back in England? Describe the mood in the final stanza of the poem. Do you think Duffy admires the photographer? Why/why not?