War Photographer – Key Quotation Analysis
“Finally” – word choice – connotations – waiting for a long time for something,
he has been waiting for a long time for this time of quiet and reflection. He has been through an ordeal, so it has
seemed like a lifetime to get to this point – through all the warzones he has witnessed.
“spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” – imagery – metaphor
- His films and camera equipment are being compared to something very structured, and ordered, which
shows both his professionalism and also makes the reader think of graves or coffins.
- You could say he is providing an order and dignity to the death and suffering that wasn’t afforded in their
own countries. Just as funerals and graveyards provide order and calm to a wide range of death and
suffering, so must he order his equipment after such a chaotic experience
“as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a mass” – imagery – simile
- Just as a priest would deliver a sermon in memory of someone who has passed, so he is remembering those
who have passed in his photos – creating a memorial for them. Also, both have to deal with grieving. A priest
also takes his work very seriously, and solemnly as he does.
“Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh.” – sentence structure.
- Short sentences do 2 things. 1) highlights the places he has been. 2) In reducing them to small, individual
sentences, and then moving on immediately. Why put these messy, complicated, incomprehensible conflicts
in single sentences? The sentences reduce them to almost nothing. To make them seem shocking? To show
his detatchment, so he can try to forget about them? Or is he bitter that the people who look at his pictures,
their perspective of them is also reduced to a simplistic, single image that does nothing to justify the
complex nature of the suffering.
“He has a job to do”. – sentence structure.
- It’s almost as if he has to remind himself to remain detached, and not get too upset by the images. He must
stay objective now, as he was in the conflict.
“Solutions slop in trays” – pun – paronomasia – play on words
- He describes the sound of the chemical splashing in the trays, but also he could mean “answers” to these
conflicts are ineffective. There are no easy answers to these conflicts, but it is his job to frame them anyway
– make them understandable through an image.
“Rural England.” – sentence structure
- Why put this phrase on its own? It’s a sharp comparison to the places he has been. Makes us think of nice
countryside. Is he almost spitting the words in disgust? In the context of the rest of the poem, this tone may
show his contempt for the country in which he lives.
“ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel” – oxymoron – word choice –
- Very plain, calm, and boring words used to describe England – CONTRAST. This mundane description of
England contrasts with the chaotic nature of the warzones he has visited. What is the Englishman’s
impression of pain? Very simple sufferings like bad weather – almost disrespectful to call this pain, or
suffering or a problem.
“to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet” – ironic use of a metaphor
