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| Paragraph 1, Context | *Carol Ann Duffy born in Glasgow 1955
*Poet and professor of poetry
*Not afraid to write about difficult or contentious issues |
| Paragraph 2, Voice and Content | *third person narrative enhances theme of onlooking/watching through a lens
*the poem's focus is on suffering caused by war & impassiveness of society
*focusing on an individual helps to see war from a different angle |
| Paragraph 3, Form/Structure | *rigid rhyme scheme of ABBCDD & four equal stanzas
*consistent order refers to "ordered rows" & the order of "rural England" compared to scenes of war
*unchanging structure & rhyme scheme supports idea of photographer not being able to change anything |
| Paragraph 4, Tone/Mood | *poem's overall mood is sombre & lonely
*speaker's initial tone is full of admiration for the photographer's commitment to his work
*tonal shift occurs in final stanza to a forlorn, accusative mocking of society's indifference |
| Paragraph 5, Imagery/Poetic Techniques | *spiritual simile in first stanza introduces a suitable element of holiness
*continuous contrast between England & the war-torn settings he has encountered
*contrasting visual imagery of light and darkness; darkness represents horrors of war |
| Paragraph 6, Language (Vocabulary and Sound Effects) | *emotive language used in "nightmare heat" brings pathetic fallacy & returning theme of weather
*sibilance & onomatopoeia used by speaker in "solutions slop in trays" to ridicule photographer's work, having just emphasised how important he views it being |
| Paragraph 7, Rhyme and Rhythm | *ABBCDD rhyme scheme is irregular/not fully formed & represents photos developing
*half rhyme in line 22 increases meter & highlights the speed with which people return to their daily lives |
| Paragraph 8, Personal Response | *imagery in final stanza of the photographer watching civilians from above, suggests what he has seen is out of reach for them & cannot be captured in a photograph
*as the poem progresses, the photos' stories reveal the photographer's inner helplessness |
