Comparisons & Key Quotes
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Power & Conflict, topic 5.1.4
Key Quotations in War Photographer
Here are some quotations you might want to remember for your exam:
"All flesh is grass"
- Biblical imagery and a metaphor.
- This quote points out the scale of bloodshed and creates a gruesome image in the readers’ head.
- This is also a line from the Bible that means human life is temporary.
“Spools of suffering set out in ordered rows”
- Imagery/metaphor.
- This quote hints at the photographer’s efforts to make sense of and order something so horrific.
- There is a contrast between what the photographer tries to do and the reality of conflict.
“The reader’s eyeballs prick / with tears, between the bath and pre-lunch beers”
- This quote shows the comfort of those at home who are not directly affected by war.
- This image contrasts with the images of pain that run throughout the poem.
“Running children in a nightmare heat”
- This quote is designed to make the reader understand the intensity of the suffering caused by war.
- Duffy refers to children to remind the reader of the innocent lives affected by war.
“A hundred agonies in black and white”
- This quote is designed to make the reader understand the intensity of the suffering caused by war.
Comparisons: War Photographer
Here are some themes that come up in War Photographer and other texts.
Reality of conflict
- On the theme of the reality of conflict, you might want to compare War Photographer to:
- Remains.
- Bayonet Charge.
- Poppies.
Conflicting emotions
- On the theme of conflicting emotions, you might want to compare War Photographer to:
- Kamikaze.
- Remains.
- The Emigree.
Test yourself on Comparisons & Key Quotes
Which of these quotes from War Photographer reminds readers that innocent lives are affected by war?
Which of these quotes from War Photographer is an example of a biblical image?
Which of these are themes that come up in War Photographer as well as other poems?