War Photographer Poem Analysis

Death is a predominant theme in the collection of poems, all of death portrayed in the poem lead to a similar interpretation of grief, regret and despair. Throughout the essay I will discuss the similarities and differences between the poems. Although the content of the poems are distinct, the views on death stay constant.

War photographer' by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem that explores the theme of death. In the poem, the photographer is developing images that he had taken. As the photos begin to develop the photographer reflects on the memories the photos conjure. ‘In his darkroom he is finally alone’ this suggests he is finally away from all the violence and chaos however this is oxymoronic as he is not alone but with his memories stained

with the screams and cries of strangers with faces. The metaphor ‘spools of suffering’ relates back to the theme of death. Rather than one still image of death the spool depicts the prolonged suffering which unravels as the spool unwinds revealing the horror.

The process of developing the photos is compared to intoning a mass, just as a priest prepares for a funeral to commemorate the dead, the war photographer develops images in remembrance of the victims. Duffy provokes the reader into considering their privilege by comparing how the word ‘problem’ has a different meaning in different places, ‘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’. Duffy presents the English as oblivious; they complain about petty issues whilst parents on the other side of the globe pray for food to feed their children. ‘War photographer’ gives the reader an insight to the true horror of war, which can’t be captured through the lens of a Canon

580EX. The war photographer knows the story behind the photographic plates. This emphasizes on how desensitized the public is to these issues as their “eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers” Duffy shows the careless indifference the public has towards issues that do not directly impact their daily lives.
Duffy presents the public as bystanders of war, exposed to the horror yet not willing to care.

Simon Armitage’s poem ‘Out of the Blue’ is a first person narrative based on media coverage of the shocking incident on September 11th 2001. The idea of the public as bystanders is presented in this poem as every time the writer refers to the public, it is in the form of a rhetorical question. ‘Does anyone see a soul worth saving?’ links back to the public as passersby always looking but never helping, In this case, unfortunately the public were helpless to rescue those trapped. Armitage conveys the extreme contrast between normal daily life and this incomprehensible situation by his use of conventional language such as ‘White cotton shirt’, ‘A man shaking crumbs or pegging out washing?’. These are mundane activities people perform whilst the media continue to display the inconceivable aftermath of 9/11. The bystanders watch truly ignorant of the dire situation in which the remaining victims are left. On one hand their instinct pushes them to survive by ‘waving, waving’, the repetition of the word waving conveys the futility of resistance. The victims know waving won’t save them however they continue to do so in a desperate attempt to capture the attention of the bystanders, although they are fully aware that death is inevitable as the narrator ultimately realizes ‘the depth is appalling’. The repetition of ‘appalling’ to describe the sheer horror of witnessing ‘others like me… wind-milling, wheeling, spiraling, falling.’ emphasizes how drastically high the building stands to the point where the victims would rather escape the inferno by leaping to their demise. This is evident when the narrator states, ‘I am not at the point of leaving, diving’. The use of the words ‘leaving, diving’ suggest that the victims chose to leave everything behind with one step however the narrator clings on as he is not yet ready to accept death.

This thought of resistance is emphasized in ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ by Dylan Thomas, as both poems show the conflict between life and death.

On one hand they are dying whilst on the other they are struggling to keep alive. Dylan Thomas has an intense view of death as he compares the end of life to a burning candle, ‘Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, Rage against the dying of light’. His use of these words suggest there is nothingness after death Dylan Thomas represents the life of his father as a day with the sun setting his approaching demise. ‘Explain Deal explicitly with Do not go gentle and then move on to midterm break’ Unlike others who would slowly accept their death Dylan Thomas demands his father to fight against death until the very last breath. Dylan Thomas poem seems to prepare for death however this concept contrasts to ‘Mid term break’ as the family in ‘Mid term break’ must come to terms with the demise of their loved one. Heaney’s poem links back to ‘Out of the blue’ as they both are a result of an unexpected catastrophe. Their different perspectives on death are conflict with one another as they both show how people mentally prepare and deal with the death of someone precious. This is evident as ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ ends with “rage, rage against the dying of the light” whilst ‘Mid term Break’ ends with a very strong short sentence “A four-foot box. A foot for every year”. Despite the difference between the

two they both convey the emotional effect and result of death as they both show the different attitudes and reactions of the victim’s family, suggesting death is more than the end of life but also an intense and mixed emotional impact on those that have anything to do with the recently deceased. Dylan Thomas however shows a more interesting way to deal with death, suggesting more passion and emphasizing on the will to live as he advises his father to not give in to death but hold on to the spec of life he has left.

‘Mid-Term Break’ is a far more subdued poem unlike ‘Do not go gentle’, It is almost conversational in its tone. We only realize there is something in the poem part way through when the son is driven home by his neighbors, this is unusual and foreshadows death as his parents were not in fit condition to bring him home. Seamus Heaney deals with death in a more emotional matter, this creates pathos as the reader can empathize with losing a loved one. There is a very strong connection between ‘Midterm Break’ and ‘A mother in a refugee camp’. Both poems have individuals who have their child taken away from them.

Chinua Achebe’s poem continues with the theme of parental grief, this is suggested in the way a death of a child is portrayed in the poem, as a devastating force. Achebe emphasizes this by using the universal image of ‘Madonna and Child’ to represent the unbreakable bond between all mothers and their children. The title itself, ‘A mother in a refugee camp’, uses the singular form of ‘mother’ as a way to represent millions of mothers forced into a similar situation. This desperate mother realizes ‘she soon would have to forget’, this foreshadows the child’s inevitable death. By using the oxymoron ‘She held a ghost-smile between her teeth’ illustrates the absolute contrast between life and death, she grieves her dead son whilst reminiscing about her short time as a mother. The mother performs her daily tasks such as bathing him and combing his hair one last time as she prepares to bury him in an unmarked grave. The ‘little daily act of no consequence’ becomes the first steps in her accepting the death of her child. The phrase ‘humming in her eyes’ suggests the fragile nature of her emotions as she does not have the strength to use her voice. This could be interpreted as a coping mechanism to avoid emotional breakdown. For Achebe to demonstrate the mother’s turmoil, he uses synesthesia to capture the true essence of maternal love. Achebe creates pathos with the reader as the mother-child relationship is apparent in all of our lives. Achebe subtly suggests life after the loss of a loved one will never be the same as the mother’s daily act will now be ‘putting flowers on a tiny grave’. Although she continues her daily tasks, her purpose in life is dead.

provokes intense emotions of despair, anger and confusion in the reader. Unlike Chinua Achebe, W.H Auden looks down on death as his love poem ‘Funeral blues’ shows the grimness of the funeral, the death of a loved one separates their family as in the poem there is no us but ‘I’ and ‘my’ this implies the isolation of individuals who have to cope with this loss.

The idea of is explicitly stated in Funeral blues as the base of the poem is about the redundancy of life after another’s death. The poem is a first person narrative/ anecdote extracted from W.H Auden’s life. Auden deals with the loss of his partner and loss of hope for the future in ‘Funeral blues’.
The writer exaggerates the death of their loved one where it seems life is no longer worth living and everyone and thing should give up and stop, this is evident by the extended metaphor in the course of the poem ‘Aero planes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky ‘he is dead’ […] I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong […] The stars are not wanted now […] Sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good’. Auden’s approach to the impact of death contrasts with Achebe as the mother is in denial while the funeral speaker has lost hope in life however they are similar in the sense that they both create pity and empathy with the reader as death doesn’t affect some people but all of us.