War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which explores the theme of moral ambiguity.
Poetry Essay – War Photographer Task: Choose a poem which explores an issue important to today’s society. Explain what the issue is and go on to show how the poet has conveyed this issue “War Photographer” by Carol Ann Duffy is a poem which explores the theme of moral ambiguity in the field of war photography which is important in today's society. The poet has conveyed this issue through the eyes and thoughts of a war photographer and highlights the controversy surrounding this profession. In the first stanza the reader is first introduced to the theme of moral ambiguity through the photographer’s job being portrayed as a noble profession. The photographer has just returned from an assignment and he is developing his most recent photos: “In his dark room he is finally alone” The face that he is “finally alone” suggests that he has been in very busy surroundings till now. Only after returning home has he been given the chance to process the scenes of violence and horror he has seen abroad. The phrase suggests that even when he is not on duty his mind is still thinking about his work and this emphasises the stress he is under relating to his job. At the start of the poem, Duffy conveys that there is no moral issue in taking pictures of suffering. She re-enforces the image as the photographer sets out the spools of
A poem which describes a persons experience is War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy.
War Photographer Essay Choose a poem which describes a person’s experience. Explain how the poetic techniques used to describe the experience make the poem more interesting. A poem which describes a person’s experience is War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy. The poem depicts a photographer who has recently returned from an assignment to a war-ridden country. It emphasises the harshness of war photography through the photographer’s thoughts on his experience abroad. In the first stanza, Duffy conveys the nature of the photographer’s profession and his experience abroad. The first sentence conveys a strong sense of relief: “In his darkroom he is finally alone” The photographer has been in chaotic and busy environments and he has not been able to fully comprehend the things that he has seen. Duffy suggests here that he is comforted to be alone and there is a strong sense that he is overwhelmed by the scenes of pain and suffering he has observed overseas. Duffy gives the impression that the photographer laying out his photographic film has a deeper meaning: “Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” The “rows” have connotations of the graveyards. This suggests that the photographer has seen very traumatizing and disturbing mass burials and graveyards that have taken place because of the war. It is almost as if the photographer is giving all the
The poem The Dolphins by Carol Ann Duffy is a monologue written from the perspective of a dolphin
The Dolphins analysis: The poem ‘The Dolphins’ by Carol Ann Duffy is a monologue written from the perspective of a dolphin. This unique perception allows for the exploration of the themes such as entrapment, abuse of wildlife, and the enmity between man and nature. Duffy’s use of literary devices and language contribute to the development of the main ideas of the poem. The poem begins with the line ‘the world is what you swim in, or dance, it is simple’. The use of the 2nd person voice helps to establish a closeness between the reader and the persona. This statement has the purpose of indicating that the speaker is a dolphin who lives its life in water and hence, swims. It also, however, implies the distinction between ‘swim’ and ‘dance’. The word ‘swim’ could mean just staying afloat- bare survival. Whereas the word dance has connotations of joy and pleasure. The phrase ‘we are not free’ shows that the dolphins are trapped and are swimming, not dancing. The phrase ‘we are in our element but we are not free’ creates a paradox between being in one’s ‘element’, which is usually considered a place where one is comfortable but also implies the physical element of water, and yet being constrained. The poet uses the phrase ‘cannot breathe for long’ to give a sense of panic and captivity. Duffy develops the idea of the dolphins’ lack of
La belle dame sans merci.
La belle dame sans merci La belle dame is a story of an abnormal woman who conquers the dreams of a knight by taking him out of the real world through her unusual ways and passionate charms. In my opinion this poem and various other poems by Keats really mystify me. Because in his biographical details it is mentioned that he did not like the company of young women. He also said that most of his poems where written for goddesses and temptresses (seductive women). Funnily enough Mr. Keats met fanny Brawne in September 1818 who was eighteen at the time. He described love as an illness that only Brawne could cure. "La belle dame sans merci". Is a ballad written by john Keats in 1819. The title (The Beautiful Lady without Pity) the lady with no shame. Makes the audience want to read the ballad. Because it creates pictures in the readers mind of love hatred and dishonesty. I think this is what persuades many people to read Keats's ballads. In the I and II stanza the knights physical and mental being is questioned. After he is seen "palely loitering". And from the physical point of view "Haggard and woe-begone". He is tired and exhausted. We can also prove this by the pace of the poem it is very slow. This is the Plot to the ballad where it starts with a steady pace and suddenly livens at a fast tempo. For example when he meets the lady the poem livens up all of
English Essay - Poems
How does Robert Browning express the feeling on madness and violence in the poems 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'The Laboratory'? I have currently been studying two poems named 'porphyrias Lover' and 'The laboratory'. Both of these poems by Robert Browning extremely express the emotions madness and violence in some way or another, in this essay I am going to point out just a few of the writing techniques used. Robert Browning wrote both of these poems which means there has to be some similarities in both poems for instance they both use a technique called 'dramatic monologue'. In 'Porphyria's Lover' he kills her because he doesn't know if he can trust the lady "While I stand and debate what to do" This is a direct quote showing that he doesn't not know whether he should go through with what he is about to do, also in 'Porphyria's Lover' the weather outside the humble cottage in which the man lives, the weather out side is Described as 'horrible' "The wind tore down the elm tops in spite" this quote I have used because it is reflecting the typical gothic genre which is suited to the era which Is set in the Victorian era. The weather mentioned in 'Porphyria's Lover' is also used to set a bad mood for the rest of the poem which eventually in the end does actually end in death. To counter act the disappointment of the weather outside he warms up the cottage then by describing such
The poems'
English Essay The poems' "Valentine" and "In Mrs. Tilchers' Class" both experience dramatic change throughout the course of their poems. They are both very similar in their structure because they both start off in a very positive way. For example the poem "Valentine" uses the words 'Red rose' and 'satin heart' in the first line, which also is the first stanza. Like this, in the poem "In Mrs. Tilchers' Class" the word 'laugh' is used in the first stanza. From this we can see that both poems are conforming to normal standard, by starting off very positively. In "Valentine" Carol Ann Duffy starts off the poem by describing the state of the relationship and uses the words 'like the careful undressing of love' to create a simile of sexual nature. As the poem progresses, we find out that Carol Ann Duffy is, in fact, ending the relationship with the person concerned. She uses phrases like 'possessive' and 'lethal', which certainly does not conform to most Valentine poems of today. Unlike the beginning of the poem where she uses a lot of very "loving" words like 'truthful' and 'lover', towards the end she talks about how the scent of the onion will 'cling to your knife'. The word 'knife' is the keyword in this line, and Carol Ann Duffy has purposely chosen it because it is not usually linked with Valentine poems. The word is a strong contrast towards the beginning of the poem.