Poetry Coursework
The theme of memory has been presented throughout the following six poems through linguistic and structural techniques.
Carol Ann Duffy structures the poem “War photographer” with a deathly approach using enjambment and rhyming couplets. The enjambment is on-going like a never-ending dream, a nightmare. In the first stanza, it refers to religious imagery, the rhyming couplets could represent the pews in a church which is supported by”…in ordered rows, the only light is red and softly glows.” It creates emphasis and helps visualize death through the ordered rows of graves. Red is a colour of death. Each stanza is separated as if they are all different memories. Some sentences only consist of a few words like a label of a memory. They can also be punchy like the actions in war, bombs, fighting and gunshots. “Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh.” To add to the plosive effect, alliteration is used. It imitates and emphasizes the memories of war.
Carol Ann Duffy presents the theme of memory with guilt and regret. She compares rural England with the violent battle grounds. “Rural England, Home again to ordinary pain.” She refers to rural England with ordinary pain which could suggest the extreme pain felt on the battle ground can’t compare. The comparison of her memory and war allows the reader to relate. “…Fields which don’t explode beneath the feet, of running children in a nightmare heat.” Again she compares rural England with the violent battlegrounds. This shows a