LITERATURE
Write about the poem, war photographer, which in my opinion is very effective in highlighting important social issues. Explain what these issues are and examine and discuss the various ways in which the poet conveys them.
The poem is about a war photographer who has been to many war-torn places and has seen first hand what war is like. In the poem the poet, Carol Ann Duffy addresses the social issues of the cruelty of war, the issue of indifference of people at the issues of war at hand and the coldness of his job the.
Duffy compares the war photographer to a priest who preaches to spread the word of God. Like the priest, the war photographer is trying to bring to the attention to the others the issues of war through his photographs. This comparison shows the significance he places on his job. However, he is not able to get the message across to people as evident in the lines “They do not care”. Duffy uses alliteration in the sentence “spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” The use of alliteration of the letter “s” suggests bitterness. The word “spools” expresses the never ending suffering those at war are burdened with. In his poem the persona often brings up that this job is a responsibility; something that he has to do. ”Beneath his hands which did not tremble then though seem to now” this shows us how the persona feels and how he is devastated but at the scene of the war, he cannot afford to shake and take a bad photo.
The experience of the war photographer is vividly presented to the readers by a few techniques. One of which is the use of symbolism.
The use of symbolism can be seen in the line “ The only light is red” In this line the colour red is significant because it is the colour of blood shed by the victims of war. “He remembers the cries of this mans wife” ”how the blood stained” these lines show that he is constantly reminded of the horrors of war and how he cannot forget. Duffy shows how war is so