1. Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity E Activity F
The Manhunt
– by Simon Armitage–
Choose a task
Activity A
Activity B
Activity C
Activity D
Activity E
Activity F

2. Activity A The Manhunt – by Simon Armitage–
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
Why has the writer chosen this form and structure? What do you think of the title? Is this a love poem or a horror story or simply a search for a man?
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What might the shape of the poem suggest and is this the first thing you notice?
Why is it written in couplets?
Look at the way the poet takes us and the voice through the poem.
Look at the exactness of the title. What do you notice about the definite article?
Look at the opening verse now. What has happened before the hunt begins?

3. Activity B The Manhunt – by Simon Armitage–
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
At the start of the poem how is the relationship presented? How are we shocked at the lines that follow?
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Which words and phrases tell us that it is a close relationship but then how does the mood change to something ugly?
Click to show highlighted words in red.

4. Activity C The Manhunt – by Simon Armitage–
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
What makes the description in these verses both beautiful and ugly?
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Which sense is being used here?
What does the poet want us to focus on? Click to show highlighted words in red.
Look for the use of metaphor and what it suggests.
Who is the poet talking to?
What does the repetition of ‘and’ do?

5. Activity D The Manhunt – by Simon Armitage–
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
The poet seems to have been freed to do something or to finally realise something. There is a sense that the speaker has found what they were looking for. How is this done?
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First, listen to these verses being read aloud. Some words and phrases seem particularly moving and perhaps upsetting. Why is this so?
Click to show highlighted words in green.
What does ‘the foetus of metal’ suggest to you?
What other words convey the same awful image?
How does the punctuation of the last line affect our understanding?

6. Activity E The Manhunt – by Simon Armitage–
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
The speaker is coming to the end of the search. The Manhunt is nearly complete.
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Why is the imagery here so powerful?
What is the end result of the Manhunt? Click to show highlighted words in red.
What is the answer to the hunt?
Has the speaker found the real damage?
What is the overall effect of this poem on the reader?

7. Activity F The Manhunt – by Simon Armitage–
After the first phase, after passionate nights and intimate days, 1
only then would he let me trace the frozen river which ran through his face, 1
only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw 1
and handle and hold the damaged, porcelain collar bone, 1
and mind and attend the fractured rudder of shoulder blade, 1
and finger and thumb the parachute silk of his punctured lung. 1
Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, 1
and feel the hurt of his grazed heart. 1
Skirting along, only then could I picture the scan, 1
the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had finally come to rest. 1
Then I widened the search, traced the scarring back to its source 1
to a sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind, around which 1
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Then, and only then, did I come close.
Look again at the whole poem.
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Which features make it so memorable and moving?
Look at the use of metaphor, stylistic features like enjambment, its form and shape and the title.
How do all those and more convey to us a meaning and a message?
Who do you think the man and the hunter are?
What effect has the poem had on you?