War PhotographerBy Carol Ann Duffy

Presentation by Lucas R. Llana

War Photographer

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this were a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don't explode beneath the feetof running children in a nightmare heat.

Something is happening. A stranger's featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost. He remembers the criesof this man's wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday's supplement. The reader's eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this were a church and hea priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home againto ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don't explode beneath the feetof running children in a nightmare heat.

Mark Up• Imagery• Enjambment• Juxtaposition• Rhyme• Alliteration• Metaphor• Symbolism• Allusion

Something is happening. A stranger's featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost. He remembers the criesof this man's wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

A hundred agonies in black-and-whitefrom which his editor will pick out five or sixfor Sunday's supplement. The reader's eyeballs prickwith tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.From aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns a living and they do not care.

Mark Up

Form• 4 Stanzas• 6 Lines each (24 total)• 10-13 syllables per line• Enjambment• Constant Rhyme scheme• A B B C D D

• Constant alliteration

Literal Meaning• A war photographer is standing in a dark

room. Working on his photographs.

• He feels like a priest who is organizing a funeral.

• He remembers what he saw during his trips to take photographs.

• While he was calm during his stay in the battlefield, he now feels fear for what he saw, even though he is safe in his house.

• People who see the photos in the newspaper aren’t affected by what they see.

Figurative Meaning• Poem describes the agonies of war.

• Apathy of people towards war.

• One side of the world is constant death and suffering, while the other side is filled with people who do not care and have no time to care about things that don’t directly affect them.

• Exploit of the dead and dying.

Imagery• “In his darkroom he is finally alone…” (line 1)• “…his hands which did not tremble then

though seem to now…” (line 8-9)• “…fields which don't explode beneath the feet

of running children in a nightmare heat.” (lines 11-12)• “…how the blood stained into foreign dust.” (line 18)• “A hundred agonies in black-and-white…” (line 19)• “…from which his editor will pick out five or six

for Sunday's supplement…” (line 20-21)• “The reader's eyeballs prick

with tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.” (lines 21-22)

Juxtaposition• “Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh.” (line 6)• “Rural England. Home again…” (line 8)

• “…ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel…” (line 9)• “…fields…explode beneath the feet

of running children in a nightmare heat” (line 11-12)

• “…running children…” (line 12)

Diction• Suffering (line 2)• Ordered rows (line 2)• Red (line 3)• Church (line 4)• Priest (line 5)• Belfast, Beirut, Phnom

Penh (line 6)• Flesh (line 6)• Tremble (line 8)• Then (line 8)• Now (line 9)• Ordinary pain (line 10)• Explode beneath (line 11)

• Running children (line 12)• Nightmare (line 12)• Blood (line 18)• Stained (line 18)• Agonies (line 19)• Black-and-white (line 19)• Baths (line 22)• Beers (line 22)• Impassively (line 23)• Living (line 23)

Symbolism• “…only light is red…” (line 3)

• “…intone a Mass…” (line 5)

• “…flesh…” (line 6)

• “A stranger's featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,a half-formed ghost.” (lines 13-15)

• “…how he sought approval/without words to do what someone must…” (lines 16-17)

• “…aeroplane…” (line 23)

• “…and they do not care.” (line 24)

Discussion Questions• Do you think it is a valid excuse to kill for the name of your

country?

• Should war atrocities be shown or remain hidden to the public?

• Could these themes and ideas also describe other things such as world hunger or poverty?