WAR PHOTOGRAPHER

CAROL ANN DUFFY

“Photography is the truth, if it’s being handled by a truthful person.”

-Don McCullin

In his darkroom 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 bath and pre-lunch beers.

From aeroplane he stares impassively at where

he earns a living and they do not care.

The text explores…

• …the experiences of a photographer as

he develops his photographs from a

warzone.

• …the psychological damage done by a

photographer’s experiences in war.

• …the isolation and alienation felt by a

war photographer.

THEME

The poet makes use of…

• …word choice

• …imagery

• …alliteration

• …structure

KEY TECHNIQUES

The following slides include examples of Don McCullin’s work; many are graphic and shocking, and all have been

taken in places either mentioned or alluded to in the poem.

GALLERY

Cyprus

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.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

“Those photographs are in the background but I'm more

interested in the photographer... in the dilemma of someone who has that as a job... to go to these places and come back with the

images.”-Carol Ann Duffy

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“I don't think I could have touched on more tragedy under one roof than I saw in that hospital that day...I've never forgotten it.”

“I don't think I was ever more ashamed of humanity”

“[The past returns] on a regular basis, as fresh as if it was happening today, to haunt

me".-Don McCullin

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

‘War Photographer’ is an excellent option for critical essays as it allows

you to deal with questions which focus on a wide range of topics such as:

• An important theme or message; • an interesting character; • a particular experience; • a specific atmosphere; • a lasting emotional response from

the reader

CRITICAL ESSAYS

Central Concerns

• Make a list of anything that you would consider to be a central concern of ‘War Photographer’

• Be able to explain why you think this by referring to specific aspects of the text

Atmosphere

• What sort of mood/atmosphere is developed throughout the poem?

• How does the poet initially create, and then further develop, this mood/atmosphere?

Personal Response

• What sort of personal response is provoked by the poem?

• Is your response emotional, intellectual or both?

• How does the poet provoke and develop this response?

Critical Features

• What are the key critical features of the poem?

• How – and why – does Duffy makes use of a range of different techniques?

• Which ones are likely to be relevant to most essay questions?

REVISION