War Photographer (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature): Revision Note

War Photographer

Below is a guide to Carol Ann Duffy’s poem 'War Photographer'. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods

• Historical and literary context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes

• Linking the poems: an understanding of how 'War Photographer' connects to the other poems in the Eduqas GCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• An overview of the poem

• A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Duffy’s intention and message

'War Photographer' overview

'War Photographer' was written by the poet Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2019. Published in 1985, 'War Photographer' depicts the solitary experience of a photographer at home in England developing photographs taken in conflicts around the world. The poem comments on the personal distress of the photographer at what they have seen in warzones, and how people back home respond.

'War Photographer' translation

Lines 1-2

Translation

• The poem narrates the moment a war photographer begins to develop the photographs taken in warzones:

  • A dark room is a room with low lighting designed for processing film 

• The narrator describes the spools of film containing images which display the tragedies of those in conflict

Duffy’s intention

• Duffy alerts readers to a moment of relief for the photographer when he is alone in his dark room:

  • This implies the photographer’s distress in the external world 

• Duffy highlights the many painful images the photographer has taken in conflict which he is about to process

Lines 3-5

Translation

• Duffy sets the scene with soft red light and religious imagery

• She compares the photographer’s task with a religious ceremony:

  • Taking Mass or taking the sacrament is a ritual in Catholicism which represents sacrifice

Duffy’s intention

• Duffy evokes a solemn mood to present the significance of the photographer's work

• She compares the processing of photographs of war with a religious ritual of sacrifice:

  • The allusion to sacrifice highlights the sacrifice of those in the photographs

Line 6

Translation

• The poet lists several places of conflict, referring to Ireland’s troubles and civil wars in Lebanon and Cambodia

• The line, “All flesh is grass”, is a biblical reference which suggests life is temporary

Duffy’s intention

• Duffy’s list of warzones connects the photographer’s “spools of suffering” to particular places, highlighting the reality of the persona's job

• Duffy refers to a famous photograph, “The Terrors of War”, to remind readers of the power photography can have

• The biblical line alludes to the fleeting lives of those in the photographer’s photos

Lines 7-8

Translation

• Here, the narrator tells us the photographer sees his work as a job which must be completed, a duty

• The photographer, now developing the photographs, feels the impact of his memories where before he had to keep a steady hand

Duffy's intention

• The narrator begins to explain the photographer’s feelings about his task to convey the perspective of a war photographer:

  • The narrator explains that he finds it emotionally painful to remember the conflicts he has witnessed 

  • Whereas before he had to stay in control, here, the photographer begins to weaken

Lines 9-12

Translation

• The narrator comments on how life in England is ordinary compared to warzones:

  • Duffy refers to the weather as something that causes people pain but can easily change

• The narrator refers to a warzone filled with landmines and bombs:

  • The reference to children running through “nightmare heat” alludes to a famous photograph of a child running from a bomb in Phnom Penh 

Duffy’s intention

• These lines present a contrast between life in the English countryside and life in warzones to show the photographer’s displacement:

  • The phrase “ordinary pain” contrasts the violent action of “children running” to show the problems in England as trivial compared to those in areas of conflict

  • Duffy’s contrast of bad weather and “nightmare heat” shows how different things are in England compared with war-torn areas 

  • She highlights the devastation of conflict on vulnerable children

Lines 13-15

Translation

• The persona describes the moment the photograph begins to develop and the image of a man caught up in conflict begins to form in the film

• This reminds him of the moment he took the photograph

Duffy’s intention

• These lines depict the slow-forming image reminding the photographer of the horrors of conflict:

  • The “half-formed ghost” implies the person in the photo was killed in conflict 

• Duffy depicts the agony of the man and how vividly clear the memory is to the photographer, conveying the suffering experienced by all involved in conflict

Lines 16-18

Translation

• The persona refers back to the moment he asked if he could take the photograph

• He refers to the man’s death in vivid description

Duffy’s intention

• Duffy depicts the difficult moment the photographer intruded into others’ tragedy:

  • The speaker implies a sense of duty to take the photograph:

    • The modal verb “must” shows his sense of moral obligation to try to change things

• The vivid description implies the photographer is haunted by the images and highlights again the distance between England and the war zones

Lines 19-22

Translation

• The narrator represents the tragedies in the photographs as numerous and with much suffering 

• Referring back to the photographer’s job, the narrator tells readers that of all the images developed, only a few will make it into the newspaper

• Duffy describes how the readers respond to the photographs: a temporary sadness that is quickly replaced by daily activities

Duffy’s intention

• Referring to the many photographs, Duffy emphasises the death toll and the impact of war to evoke sympathy from the reader

• Indirectly taking on the voice of the photographer, the narrator suggests the response from the readers, despite the sacrifices of those involved, is brief and temporary

• Duffy implies the English public is desensitised to war and the individual suffering of those involved

Lines 23-24

Translation

• The poem ends with the photographer back on the aeroplane going to his next job

• The description of the photographer, looking down “impassively” on England, tells us he feels numb towards his homeland

• The third-person reference “they” refers to the public below

Duffy’s intention

• Duffy’s poem ends without resolution to show the futility of the photographer’s job and the continuous and unrelenting nature of war

• Duffy’s cynical tone comments on how the public have become numb and desensitised to tragedy in war

• She suggests the photographer does not feel similar to his compatriots at home and is therefore left isolated and frustrated

Writer’s methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. In the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes the writer’s intentions behind their choices in terms of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

The poem is a rigid, third-person narration depicting a war photographer’s complex emotions as he processes the photographs he has taken in warzones.

Structure

The poem follows a cyclical structure which ends with the photographer going back to warzones, suggesting the futility of his work, as well as a sense of continuing conflict.

Language

Duffy’s imagery describes a variety of settings, from a dark room in rural England to conflict zones around the world. The contrasting imagery conveys the very different lives of those involved in conflict to those safe at home.

Historical and literary context

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Carol Ann Duffy, or historical facts about war zones which are unrelated to the ideas in War Photographer.

The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Duffy in 'War Photographer' which relate to its key themes. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Duffy explores:

• The impact of conflict

• Suffering and powerlessness

The impact of conflict

• The poem, published in 1985, refers to a famous photograph called “The Terrors of War, taken during the Vietnam War:

  • The powerful image shows a naked, terrified child running away from an exploding bomb

  • The line “children running in nightmare heat” connotes to this photograph

  • In the photo a photographer can be seen taking a picture of the child

  • This image had a powerful impact on the public at the time, and raised debates about the moral duty of those witnessing conflict  

  • Referring to this photograph helps raise awareness of the wide-reaching impact war photography can have

  • The emotive reference to the children highlights how conflict affects even the innocent

Suffering and powerlessness

• Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2019, was friends with two war photographers:

  • This may have influenced her to write from the perspective of a war photographer

  • In the poem, Duffy presents the photographer as haunted and traumatised by his work

  • This presents the suffering of all those involved in conflict

  • However, her poem encourages the public to pay closer attention to their work

• Duffy’s poem depicts the suffering of a war photographer haunted by memories of the many horrors he has witnessed around the world:

  • She names international conflict zones he has been involved in to represent his repeated suffering

    • She refers to the troubles in Belfast and the conflict in Beirut to remind readers of the reality behind her poem

  • Duffy’s message is that these are just examples of the many conflicts around the world, and the photographer feels powerless to change things

Linking the poems

The Eduqas GCSE English Literature exam asks you to compare two poems from the anthology. You will be given the text of one poem in the question paper, but you will need to compare this with another poem of your choice, one that comments on the particular theme in the question. It stands to reason, then, that it will be a good idea to understand your anthology poems according to their themes.  

Here, you will find a guided list of poems that work well together, and how they are linked by a common theme. Do remember, though, the list below is not exhaustive and themes and ideas often overlap. 

The poems you could link with Duffy's 'War Photographer' are:

• 'Remains' by Simon Armitage

• 'Kamikaze' by Beatrice Garland

• 'Decomposition' by Zulfikar Ghose

• 'Disabled' by Wilfred Owen