War PhotographerIn his dark room he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows. The only light is red and softly glows, as though this were a church and he a priest preparing to intone a Mass. Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh in grass. He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays beneath his hands which did not tremble then though seem to now. Rural England. Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel, to fields which don’t explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat. Something is happening. A stranger’s features faintly start to twist before his eyes, a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife, how he sought approval without words to do what someone must and how the blood stained into foreign dust. A hundred agonies in black-and-white from which his editor will pick out five or six for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and the pre-lunch beers. From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns his living and they do not care. Carol Ann Duffy Moreover. the scarring effects of war are directly addressed to the readers through the employment of diction.War is delightful to those who have yet to experience it. The next sentence “All flesh in grass. The photographer seems to utter with pain these places where bombs were rampant “Belfast. Wars do not just take away people’s lives. It is not clear who are “they” he is mentioning. the last few words bottle up his condemnation towards the ignorant public. It also conveys the sense of self-conscience. showing the man’s strong conscience. he utters “Something is happening”. The word “stained” is used. in the last stanza. In the last line. which will haunt him until his last breath. he is probably implying the ignorant public. It seems as if blood has imprinted into the war ground and can never be washed away ever again. the light is described as “red and softly glows”. It also provokes our imagination of the painful and uneasy death of the man mentioned in the third stanza. “alone” and “suffering” to create the setting for the poem. However. To those who have. the photographer feels a self-conscience raging within. which deeply contrasts the way he utters those locations in the first stanza. haunted with images of the deceased. Phnom Penh”. but much greedier than that. the main character. He seems to reproach himself. as if he is making money from the deaths of others. The photographer says that where he makes his living is where other people die. People will simply go on with their lives. Beirut. The poem’s diction conveys the character’s complexity of woe.. a sympathetic tone is used. In these two stanzas. Throughout the poem. the tone becomes somewhat sarcastic. a surviving war photographer. “fields which don’t explode. in linking with the “readers” in the same stanza. which evokes violence and deaths. their lives would never be the same again. Perhaps. his relief is short-lived as he is reminded of the terror of the battlefield –“pain which simple weather can heal”. A war destroys a person’s fledgling soul into remnants of darkness and fear. in the next few words. Self-conscience seems to reach its climax in this line as the photographer reproaches himself. This can be sensed in the two lines: “The readers’ eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and the pre-lunch beers”. A critical tone is present in only last few words “and they do not care”. He seems to criticize his own profession. which would be present in the second and third stanza. he calls out “Rural England. However. The poem’s tone is deeply melancholic. who heartlessly disregards the brutal massacre of war.he makes his living where people die. The description of “A stranger’s features faintly twist before his eyes” evokes terror. the photographer believes that his photos will not evoke feelings or thoughts. This is highlighted in the last few lines. condemning his job and those people who do not pay the least regard for the unfortunate who perished in the war. deep irony is provoked. which adds bitterness to the photographer’s criticism. It seems as if his innocence has been shattered during those raging days. In the first stanza. In the second stanza. the sad mood is enhanced by the terrifying flashback of the photographer. In the third stanza. the target of his criticism switches to “they”. In the second and the third stanza. This woeful tone is aroused right from the beginning of the text when the poet uses words such as “darkroom”. He comes back with a hollow soul. Home again” with relief. those who knowingly ignores the brutality rampaging in wars. showing the haunting image of blood in the man’s mind. With sudden fright.. comes back from the battlefield with burdens of scarring terror. In this poem. “From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where/ he earns his living and they do not care”. metaphors and sound devices. fear seems to overwhelm the photographer’s sentiments. This enhances the setting of the “darkroom” and the loneliness of the war photographer.” seems to pierce the man’s conscience as it reminds him of how peaceful and lively these places once were. However. . This relates to the colour blood and war. As the main theme of the poem.”. Perhaps. terror and condemnation. targeting at those people who enkindle wars. a complexity of the character’s insights is conveyed to the readers. . we can feel a growing condemnation within. the photographer seems to imply the crime and inhuman massacre of wars. We actually feel sympathy for him as he is bound to witness mounting terror in wars: deaths. for their mere good. bombs and so on. by reminding us of the Mass.There is one significant metaphor in this poem: “a priest preparing to intone a Mass”. Throughout the poem. Perhaps. On the other hand. Z`W[`W^SZVcWUSZXWWSY^[cZYU[ZVWZS`[Zc`Z`S^YW`ZYS``[_W\W[\Wc[ WZZVWcS^_X[^`W^W^WY[[V .