'Manhunt' in comparison to 'In Paris with you'

Compare the methods the poets use to present intimacy and closeness in relationships in ‘The Manhunt’ and ‘In Paris With You’.

Both poems focus on the difficulties of being close to another person after past experiences. The male speaker in the poem ‘In Paris with You’ is unwilling to discuss his experiences of the past because he was “bamboozled” and is now focusing on the present, “I’m on the rebound”. The husband in ‘The Manhunt’ is similarly closed on the subject of the past because of his experience of war, “The blown hinge of his lower jaw” shows that he is unable to talk of his experience and it is like a door which is no longer open to his wife.

The narrator of ‘In Paris with You’ does not want to spend time visiting famous parisian landmarks like “Notre Dame”, instead he wants to stay in an “Old hotel room” having sex with the woman. This shows that the man does not want to spend time getting to know her but instead he uses her. The poet uses colloquial language - “downed a drink or two” - to reflect the lack of care for the woman.

In ‘The Manhunt’ the wife is searching for her husband who seems lost to her, metaphorically, after war. She is “climbing the rungs of his broken ribs” which shows she is trying to reach his heart to let him know she’s there, she is “climbing” which takes a lot of effort in a gradual search for her husband. In ‘The Manhunt’ the poet shows effort to connect with another person. On the other hand in ‘In Paris with You’ the man shows no effort in getting close to the woman, which is reflected by the colloquial language.