WAR

PHOTOGRAPHER Carol Ann Duffy

Learning Objective: To explore the language, form and structure

used by Duffy to create meaning and effect.
Lit-AO2
Learning Objective: To explore the language, form and structure
used by Duffy to create meaning and effect. (AO2)

A/9 I can evaluate different interpretations of

Duffy’s use of language

B / 6-7 I can analyse how Duffy creates meaning

through her language choices

C / 4-5 I can explain the different techniques Duffy uses

to shape meaning
 14/02/22

War Photographer
LO: Understanding language, structure and content of this poem

Question Answer
How many papers are there for your
literature exam?
What two texts are for paper 1?
What 3 things do you look at in paper 2?
Which text has the character Scrooge?
Which paper does it belong to?
How many questions are there for the
unseen poetry section?
How many questions do you have to
answer for An Inspector Calls?
 2) How do you suppose the
1) How do you suppose the
photographer feels?
subject of each photo feels?

3) How do we feel seeing these in the

papers and on the news back home?
 2) How do you suppose the
1) How do you suppose the
photographer feels?
subject of each photo feels?

3) How do we feel seeing these in the

papers and on the news back home?
 War Photographer
Back in the day (not that long ago!) you would have to
wait and take the film back with you to develop.

You wouldn’t know if the image you captured was what

you remembered… or even intended. So the impact of
what you saw was revisited and reframed more
frequently than with digital media.

Sometimes, the film would be corrupt or broken and the

image would never appear.
War
Truth Choose a line from the
Suffering
Comfort poem which reflects one
Religion of these ideas…
Foreign
Hypocrisy
Ambivalence
Professionalism
Dilemma

Ambivalence - the state of having

mixed feelings or contradictory ideas
about something or someone
 Find quotations in the poem to prove
these points…
1. The man has been to all the trouble spots of the world.
2. The man is now working in a familiar part of the world which is
peaceful by comparison to the places mentioned above. 
3. Again, emphasises safety and peaceful life at home, shocking
4. image, contrast with the violence abroad.
5. He remembers the death of a man and the picture he had taken
with the unspoken permission of the man’s wife.
6. He thinks the people that see the photos will be touched but will
go on with their lives.
 Poem Summary
• Duffy was inspired to write this poem by her friendship with war
photographers Don McCullin and Philip Jones Griffiths.
• She was especially intrigued by the peculiar challenge faced by these people
whose job requires them to record terrible, horrific events without being able
to directly help their subjects.
• Throughout the poem, Duffy provokes us to consider our own response when
confronted with the photographs that we regularly see in our newspaper
supplements, and why so many of us have become desensitised to these images.
• By viewing this issue from the perspective of the photographer, she also
reveals the difficulties of such an occupation.
• By the end of the poem, it is clear her subject (the photographer) straddles
two vastly different worlds yet increasingly feels he belongs to neither.

Do you agree that we have become desensitised to graphic images of war?

Why might people become desensitised to such images?
 READING THE
POEM
Structure and form
Learning Objective: To explore the language, form and
structure used by Duffy to create meaning and effect.
Lit-AO2
What are the Sibilance – what is
connotations of the the effect? The light is in
colours? What do they contrast to
suggest? what?
In his darkroom he is finally alone
A/9
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
The only light is red and softly glows, B / 6-7
Simile – what
Metaphor – as though this were a church and he does this C / 4-5
what does this a priest preparing to atone a Mass. suggest about
say about the the
photographer? Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass. photographs?

Challenge Question: What effect does

Litany (prayer) of horror; why? what the religious semantic field have? How
is the effect of the caesura? does it effect how we view the
photographer and his work?
What does the What is making him tremble? A/9
word job Why is he trembling now?
suggest about B / 6-7
how he views
what he does? He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays C / 4-5
beneath his hands which do not tremble then
What point is though seem to now. Rural England. Home again What does this
this making to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, suggest about his
about English life? What does it
people? to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet suggest about his
of running children in nightmare heat. safety?

Challenge: What does this

Why are lines 11 and 12 Explain the stanza suggest about Duffy’s
effective? Think of the imagery importance of view on the attitudes of English
Duffy creates. this contrast people?
Duffy uses juxtaposition to highlight the stark contrast between these two images.
“To fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare
heat”.

Think – pair – share question: What effect does Duffy’s

use of imagery have on the reader?
Which technique is used? How is it The photographer has a dilemma A/9
effective? Think of two possible here, how do you know this? What
reasons, which is most effective? is his dilemma? B / 6-7

Why is this Something is happening. A stranger’s features C / 4-5

line faintly start to twist before his eyes,
effective?
a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries Why must he do
Why is it
of this man’s wife, how he sought approval what he is doing?
ending this
How is he justifying
stanza? Without words to do what someone must
it?
and how the blood stained into foreign dust.

Infer how you think he seeks approval Give a literal and figurative explanation for what
without verbally asking for it? What this could be.
actions can you see him doing?
“strangers features...[…]…twist before his eyes”
 What does this word suggest? How What does this phrase mean?
does it reflect the photographers Literally and figuratively. Why has Duffy
emotions? mentioned this?
How does this
A hundred agonies in black-and-white
dismiss the
He is impassive, from which his editor will pick out five or six trauma and
what does this conflict?
for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick
mean? Why is he
impassive? with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.
Why eyeballs?
From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where Why do they
He earns his living and they do not care. prick with
tears?
Why don’t people
care? How do Who are they? Do people care?
people view the Why are they Explain…
war images? referred to as
that?
 Before we write our own analysis we
will look at WAGOLL
KQ – How does Duffy use language to influence the emotions of the reader.
Duffy manipulates language to influence an emotional response in the reader,
especially through her use of imagery in the lines, “To fields which don’t
explode beneath the feet/ of running children in a nightmare heat”. We would
normally think of children playing in the sun as symbol of innocence and
happiness; however, Duffy twists this classic image to one of horror, recalling
the terror of napalm attacks and children literally running for their lives. The
connotations of the word ‘nightmare’ summarise Duffy’s attitude towards
conflict, this lifestyle is recurring and inescapable - almost too appalling to be
real. The juxtaposition of these two scenes serves to create an intense
emotional response in the reader; we are confronted with the true horror of
conflict without the barrier of a photograph to protect us.
 Plenary: Written response (Choose one line from below to
focus on to answer the key question).
KQ – How does Duffy use language to influence the emotions of the reader.

1. “to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet /of running children”

2. “how the blood stained into foreign dust”

3. “a hundred agonies in black-and-white”

4. “A stranger’s features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-

formed ghost.”

5. “The reader’s eyeballs prick/ with tears between the bath and pre-
lunch beers”
War Photographer – Stanza 1
1. What tone is evident in this stanza?
2. What language and poetic techniques are used to produce this
tone?
3. How does the imagery in line 2 link to the theme of the
effects of war?
4. How does the poet use contrast to focus the reader’s attention
at the end of the stanza?

Gold Challenge:
What is the significance of the three places mentioned in the final
line of this stanza?
 War Photographer – Stanza 1
‘Spools’ are what the film
came on; alliteration used to
emphasise the death the
persona has photographed.
Regular rhythm reflects the
methodical nature of the
persona’s task.
Religious and colour
symbolism – red for
danger/blood, but
also echoes the
Sanctuary lamp in a
church
Extended imagery
through simile – implies
the persona takes his
work seriously, like a
priest. The photographer
feels responsible for how
the dead subjects of his
photographs will be
remembered
Minor/1-word sentences listing
well-known trouble spots
around the time the poem was
written
In pre-digital days,
photographs had to be
developed in a dark room.
‘dark’ also implies a threat. Shows the persona to be solitary
– but ‘finally’ implies that there
In his dark room he is finally alone are things he cannot get away
from.
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
‘out, ‘ordered’ ‘rows’ –
The only light is red and softly glows, assonance used to further
emphasise the methodical
approach of the persona.
Also an image of the spools
as though this were a church and he being regularly laid out, like
gravestones.
a priest preparing to intone a Mass.
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.
Religious imagery from a
partial Biblical quotation.
This opening stanza has a Meant to show the brevity
solemn, reverent tone, and fragility of life.
indicating the respect the
photographer has for those
he has photographed.
War Photographer – Stanza 2
1. To what does the tone change at the beginning of this stanza?
2. Provide a quotation that illustrates this tone.
3. What structural contrast is again used in this stanza to display
the difference between home and abroad?
4. How could the phrase “Solutions slop” be seen as a
metaphor?

Gold Challenge:
How does the phrase “hands, which did not tremble then / though
seem to now” display the professionalism of the persona?
 War Photographer – Stanza 2 Chemicals were necessary to develop
photographs. Perhaps also a
A more matter-of-fact tone, as if
A clever phrase metaphor showing that solutions to
waking from a dream. He gets
showing both the wars and conflicts are not easy to
to work.
professionalism of the organise. Alliteration and
persona (he could not onomatopoeia used to emphasise the
allow his hands to imagery.
shake when taking the He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays
photos as then they
would not be clear) as
well as the emotional beneath his hands, which did not tremble then
burden he now bears
as he develops them.
Short minor sentence contrasting his peaceful
though seem to now. Rural England. Home again
home with where he works abroad.

An ironic statement
showing ‘first world
problems’ (bad to ordinary
Oxymoronpain which simple weather can dispel,
weather) contrasted
with what those in a
war zone suffer.
to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet

of running children in a nightmare heat.

In this stanza, the tone shifts to a

more matter-of-fact one as he
professionally gets on with his job
while thinking about the places he
has worked while abroad.
War Photographer – Stanza 3
1. What tone(s) is/are evident in this stanza?
2. Provide a quotation that illustrates each tone you find.
3. In what ways is “half-formed ghost” an effective metaphor?

Gold Challenge:
Why “must” the photographer intrude on such moments?
 War Photographer – Stanza 3
Photos took a while to appear in the chemicals. The image
starts to appear and looks like a ghost to start with, linking it
with the death of its subject. ‘twist’ is used to show the pain the
subject suffered. ‘Faintly’ reflects the persona remembering the
situation of the photograph.

Something is happening. A stranger’s features

faintly start to twist before his eyes,

The photographer was
intruding on a very private a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries
moment, but had to do so to
be able to do his job.
of this man’s wife, how he sought approval
He takes his job seriously,
doing what others would not,
but still tries to seek approval
without words to do what someone must
from his subjects.

and how the blood stained into foreign dust.

The tone shifts again, becoming Emphasises that this happens

regretful, even ashamed, as the
persona recalls how he had to
invade deeply personal, private
and tragic moments to get the
shots he needed.
elsewhere in the world, and
his job is to try and show
those not involved the results
of war.
War Photographer – Stanza 4
1. How does the tone shift again in this stanza?
2. Provide quotations that illustrate this.
3. What technique is used to emphasise the lack of interest from
the British public in lines 3 – 4?
4. Why is the persona impassive by the end of the poem?

Gold Challenge:
How is the editor’s lack of emotional connection to the
photographer’s work implied through use of language?
 War Photographer – Stanza 4
A metaphor used to show the many Black and white film is a high-contrast
photographs taken of war subjects, each medium compared to colour film. The
showing the pain of war colours also traditionally reflect ‘bad’ and
‘good’.

A hundred agonies in black-and-white

Only a small number of the
photos end up getting

The supplement is an extra

from which his editor will pick out five or six published.

section of the Sunday paper

– there is a dismissive tone
here, as his hard and for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick
emotionally-draining work
does not even warrant being
placed in the main paper.
with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.
The reader is affected, but
only briefly on his/her way
through their Sunday From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where
routine.
He is on his way to another Emotionless – the
job abroad. he earns his living and they do not care. public’s lack of concern
contrasts with what he
suffers to produce the
photos, making him
He is flying over the UK as he leaves to continue his work, but the public here do not
indifferent to their inability
feel the same about the photographs he produces, being more concerned with their
to appreciate his work.
own minor problems.
The tone at the beginning of this stanza is almost bitter at the lack of respect
shown by his editor and the British public towards his work and the effort that went
into producing the photos, before shifting to an almost emotionless ending, a deep
contrast with the previous stanzas.