'War Photography' Carol Ann Duffy

War Photographer Commentary
Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘War Photographer’ published in 1985, explores the two contrasting worlds in which a war photographer lives in: the warzones of Belfast, Beirut and Phnom Penh and his calm home town in Rural England. This poem was based on Duffy’s numerous conservations with Don McCullin, an internationally known British photojournalist who specialised in war photography and urban poverty also known as the ‘the underside of society’. By sharing his experiences, Duffy evokes both disturbing and conflicting feelings for the reader. Today I intend to discuss how she achieves this through the use of literary techniques like imagery, symbolism and metaphors, the reoccurring themes of death and the effects of war, the tone and the structure of the poem.
Duffy uses techniques like metaphors, symbolism and imagery. These techniques are very effective as they create a clear vision of what the speaker is both doing and reflecting on in the poem. For example in stanza one, “with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” creates an image of the graves or coffins of the dead soldiers. However the ‘spools of suffering’ also acts as a metaphor demonstrating the effects of war. This is because ‘spools’ often relates to happy memories but in this poem Duffy uses it to convey sad and distressing memories. In the next line Duffy uses symbolism, “only light is red”, with the ‘red’ symbolising blood and the use of ‘only’ suggesting that he is deeply scared by what he has witnessed. Through these techniques, Duffy has clearly portrayed the photographer’s memories, disturbing the reader as well as emphasising the themes of death and the effects of warfare.
The main themes in this poem are death and the effects of war as they appear in every stanza. Duffy uses these themes to make the reader question who is really inhumane; the photographer or the audience. She uses ambiguous lines like in stanza three, “a half ghost. /He remembers the cries”. This line emphasises these themes of death and the effects of war, as it suggests that the photographer is deeply distressed as it highlights the inner battle he encounters when developing the photos. The use of the word ‘ghost’ also holds a double meaning, suggesting a faint image or dead man. The theme of the effects of war is also highlighted in lines three to five of stanza two, “Home again/ to ordinary pain which simple weather dispel, /to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet”. These lines emphasis the theme as it conveys the photographer’s struggles to adapt back into his normal life in Rural England. These reoccurring themes create a depressing tone, making the reader sympathetic but only for a short time. “The reader’s eyeballs prick” in stanza four, shows the short lived sympathy and reflects how the public feel when they see these images in the Sunday paper as for a while they are reminded of their neighbours suffering but by lunchtime they have forgotten what they had learnt.
‘War Photographer’ was constructed using a modern structure of 4 stanzas of sestets (6 lines). Within in each stanza there are two pairs of rhyming couplets, line 2, 3 and 5, 6. These rhyming couplets like “then”, “again” and “must, “dust”; engages the reader and also make it easy to read/follow. Duffy also divides the stanzas into different scenes or memories of the photographer’s life and job, for example in stanza one he is reflecting on the war zone whilst in stanza two in three he is developing the photos or ‘doing his job’. These different stanzas give the reader more insight into his world as a war photographer.
In conclusion War Photographer evokes both disturbing and conflicting feelings for the reader, which Duffy achieves through the use of literary techniques like imagery, symbolism and metaphors, the reoccurring themes of death and the effects of war and the tone and structure of the poem.
Bibliography
"Analysis: War Photographer (Carol Ann Duffy) | Litxpert." Litxpert. N.p., 2 Dec. 2011. Web. 6 June 2013. .
"Carol Ann Duffy – War Photographer." Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2013. .
"Critical Analysis of War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy : English Literature." 123helpme. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2013. .

Bibliography: "Analysis: War Photographer (Carol Ann Duffy) | Litxpert." Litxpert. N.p., 2 Dec. 2011. Web. 6 June 2013. . "Carol Ann Duffy – War Photographer." Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2013. . "Critical Analysis of War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy : English Literature." 123helpme. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 June 2013. .