War Photographer by Carol Anne Duffy. 10 GCSE exam essay quotes, fully analysed for language, structure and form. There’s even a line-by-line translation and more! – perfect for your GCSE exam or essay!
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What is War Photographer about?
A war photographer returns home from a warzone. We first meet him in his darkroom, where he’s relieved to be back. His darkroom—a place to develop photographs—feels like a safe sanctuary after the chaos of the warzone.
The main plot involves him preparing to develop the photographs, which trigger traumatic memories. As one picture develops in the chemical solutions, he is reminded of the incident when he had to ask a wailing widow if he could take a picture of her dead husband. He seems shocked by the nature of his job, which requires him to take photographs of death and suffering, but he knows he “has a job to do”—spread the news to hopefully stop wars.
He thinks about how his fellow people in England lack empathy for war in a foreign country because their lives are so privileged and safe.
The poem ends with the photographer heading to another warzone on a plane. He looks down at England and realises that no matter how much suffering he photographs, “they do not care.”
What is the main message of War Photographer?
Society should realise that war has an emotional and psychological effect on anybody who directly experiences it (not just soldiers). Society should also try to be more sympathetic to suffering of people in distant wars.
What is the purpose of War Photographer?
To raise awareness about these supporting themes.
- Society’s Apathy Toward War and War Journalism
- Desensitisation to Violence
- Impact of War on Civilians
- Memory, Trauma, PTSD
- Conflict of Professional Duty and Personal Morality
- Isolation and Alienation
Useful Vocabulary of War Photographer
Agony – An extreme physical or mental suffering.
All flesh is grass – A biblical reference: death is natural and all life returns to the soil.
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh – An infamous war torn cities.
Catholic – A certain type of Christian.
Dispel – To make a feeling disappear.
Impassive – To not feeling or showing emotion.
Intone– To speak with a little rise and fall of the pitch of the voice.
Mass– Christian religious ceremony performed by Catholics.
Prick – To make someone feel guilt, shame and regret.
Rural – Relating to characteristics of the countryside rather than the town.
Slop– To spill or flow over the edge of a container, typically as a result of careless handling.
Sought -To attempt to find something (past tense of ‘seek’)
Spools– A cylindrical device which film, magnetic tape, thread or other flexible materials can be wound.
Sunday bath – A traditional relaxing Sunday bath.
Sunday lunch – A large lavish meal every Sunday with friends and family.
Sunday Supplement – The magazines that are part of the bigger Sunday newspapers.
LINE-BY-LINE GCSE TRANSLATION | War Photographer
Click on the arrow under each poem stanza to reveal the translation. Each matching line is numbered to help you.
TIP: try to work out how and why the translation is connected to the original line. Notice what words have been swapped. This will help you in the future when you have to understand unseen poems in your GCSE exam.
War Photographer – by Carol Anne Duffy.
- In 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 is grass.
Stanza 1 Translation
- The war photographer returns to his ‘darkroom’ to develop photos.
- His cartridges of old fashioned photo film are lined up ready.
- Dark rooms have a red light to protect the photo film,
- The stillness and darkness seems like a church after the chaotic war zone
- He feels like a priest preparing to give a remembrance service for the dead.
- He remembers 3 war torn cities. Death like this cannot be a natural part of life.
- 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.
Stanza 2 Translation
- He must warn the world. Photos are being created in chemical solutions
- Beneath his trembling hands; he was in automatic mode back then but
- Trauma has caught up with him now. England is safe in comparison. He’s home
- Where pain seems tame, where the sun creates instant happiness,
- Where beautiful green fields are not filled with landmines
- He saw innocent children attacked in the warzone
- 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.
Stanza 3 Translation
- The photo begins to develop. A man’s face
- Faintly appears on the photo paper in the solution tray,
- It looks ghostly. It triggers the haunting memory of the photo
- When this man’s wife cried, and how he asked permission
- With miming gestures to take an important picture
- Of her dead husband that would tell the world of a foreign war.
- 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 pre-lunch beers.
- From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where
- he earns his living and they do not care.
Stanza 4 Translation
- A hundred black and white photos filled with war images of suffering;
- His boss at the newspaper will throw most away but pick a few for
- The Sunday newspaper magazine. UK readers will only be sad for a second
- Between their privileged Sunday bath, lunch and beers.
- Back on a plane to another warzone; he stares out the window – he feels numb –
- His realises his people do not care about war nor that he risks his life to tell them.
IMAGE: “Rural England. Home again…“
WRITTEN PARAGRAPH EXAMPLE – Language Analysis
Here’s the first quote from our quotes table below written up as a short paragraph to show you how amazing your answers could be if you use the information in this guide.
How Does Carol Anne Duffy use language in the poem War Photographer?
Here’s the type of paragraph you’ll be able to write…
In the poem War Photographer, Carol Anne Duffy use the symbolism of ‘dark room”- which is old fashioned photo processing room – to represent the photographer’s mind that is filled with “dark” memories of the war zone or the mental depression and the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) he feels. This quiet dark room, where the walls protect and cocoon him from the outside world, is also juxtaposed with the yet not described chaotic battle zone. “Finally alone ” suggests that he has been craving to be alone or escape the chaos of war for some time.
Right, now it’s time for you to get your hands on all those beautiful GCSE quotes…
LANGUAGE QUOTES about War Photographer…
| EVDENCE | ANALYSIS |
| In his dark room he is finally alone. | Symbolism “Dark room”– old fashioned photo processing room – this could represent the photographer’s mind that is filled with “dark” memories of the warzone or the mental depression and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) he feels. This quiet dark room (where the walls protect and cocoon him from the outside world) is also juxtaposed with the chaotic battle zone. “Finally alone ” – suggests that he has been craving to be alone or escape the chaos of war for some time. |
| spools of suffering set out in ordered rows | Metaphor: “suffering” – camera film contains pictures of war crimes against helpless and innocent civilians. Sibilance: “spools…suffering… set” – the hissing ‘s’ sound mimics the simmering hot evil and anger of war waiting to be released from the film containers. “Set out… ordered” – The photographer is being systematic/methodical to reclaim the lack of control and helplessness he felt in the war zone. Alternatively, his behaviour could represent his respect for the dead whose memories he is about to revisit. Symbolism: “rows” – like war cemetery headstones. |
| Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass | Emotive Triplet “Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Pen” – The poet flashes 3 quick images of war torn cities (like camera snapshots) where helpless and innocent civilians were harmed in the crossfire of war. Each image is loaded with bloodshed, tragedy and emotion. Biblical Allusion: “All flesh is grass” – means death is a natural part of the cycle of life – However, the juxtaposition of these 3 images against this statement suggests she means it sarcastically, implying the opposite that not these deaths are not natural because they result from horrible violence and oppression of the weak by those that abuse power. |
| He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays | Short simple sentence “He has a job to do” – snaps the photographer out of his dark thoughts. He believes he has a higher purpose which is to stop war through his dangerous work. Pun “solutions” – they are the chemicals to develop the photos – However, Duffy plays with a second implying his photos that develop in the “trays” could be the ‘solution’ to war (if they ever manage to convince people around the world to make a stand against war). However, Duffy explores how society does not care in the final stanza. |
| Hands, Which did not tremble then though seem to now. | Symbolism “Hands”– symbolise his gift as a photographer – he feels that it is with his (“hands”) power to help these war victims. Show Not Tell “tremble” – He is in delayed shock about his horrific ordeal. Rather than focus on the experiences of soldiers. Duffy’s war poem is unique in that it explores the impact of war on anyone that comes into direct contact with it. Third person “seem” – The horror of war has taken control away from the photographer over own body and mind. He does not fully understand why his hands shake. He is a victim of war and has PTSD. Juxtaposition “then…now” – exaggerates the difference between the chaos of battle and the peacetime of England – the photographer professionally carried out his job in the heat of battle in the same way that a soldier follows orders. Duffy explores the strength of people to function in life threatening situations although the real damage is hidden only to resurface later in peacetime. |
| half-formed ghost | Metaphor “ghost” – the image looks ghostly as it fades into view – the man’s face in the photograph is a ‘ghost’ from his past. His face haunts him because of the guilt the photographer feels around taking the photograph. The man was killed in the war, was still bleeding and his wife still screaming with grief as the photo was taken in stanza 3. Metaphor “half formed” the memory is still hazy at this point until it becomes glaringly vivid. |
| The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers. | Symbolism “prick” – means a short sharp pain – the poet is sad that readers back home in the UK only experience a short sudden moment of sadness that is over too quickly. Symbolism “bath and pre-lunch beers” – refer to stereotypical Sunday pastimes in England – The poet suggests that English readers have safe privileged lives in comparison to the suffering of those in war torn parts of the world. Getting the world to care is the photographer’s biggest challenge. |
| He stares impassively … and they do not care | Emotive verb and adverb “stares impassively” – the poet is stunned and shocked by his own people and by the tormenting experiences of his job. Othering “they” – he feels disconnected from his own society. They live privileged lives and cannot relate to war, whereas the horrors of war that the photographer has experienced means that he will never be the same as his fellow Englishmen again. |
If you want to learn more about analysing LANGUAGE, visit our incredible GCSE English Language Analysis | EASY Grade 9 Guide
IMAGE: “a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries of this man’s wife”
STRUCTURE QUOTES about War Photographer…
| Regular ABBCDD rhyme scheme | Contrasts with the chaotic and disturbing subject matter. This regularity mirrors the photographer’s attempt to bring order to his moments during the poem. |
| Divided into four six-line stanzas | This regularity also mirrors the photographer’s attempt to bring order to his moments during the poem. |
| He has a job to do… do what someone must… | Symbolism “Job” – from stanza 2 – the photographer believes his job is a moral duty to help spread the news of war which helps to explain why he risks his life. Imperative “must” – from stanza 3 – there is a sense that the photographer questions the morality of his job through the way he describes the man in stanza 3. He appears to feel guilty about photographing the suffering of war victims but believes that war could be stopped if only people in safer parts of the world took notice and acted together to stop violence. |
| Rural England… foreign dust. | Juxtaposition of powerful imagery “Rural England… foreign dust” – “Rural” – lush, green, fertile and peaceful land in England where life can grow and flourish. “Dust” – dry, brown, barren and hostile land in an unspecified place where nothing can grow and lives are ended. |
| Home again to ordinary pain | Volta/ emotive noun “Home again” – the poet switches back and forth throughout the poem from intrusive feelings and memories of the warzone to the safety of the darkroom and ‘home.” The emotive noun “home” is loaded with ideas of safety, comfort and familiarity. Irony “ordinary pain” – the poet implies that the suffering in a warzone is of a level that cannot be understood by people who have only ever experienced peace and safety. |
If you want to learn more about analysing STRUCTURE, visit our incredible GCSE English Structure Analysis | EASY Grade 9 Guide
FORM ANALYSIS for War Photographer...
| Form: Free verse | The lack of a consistent meter also mirrors the unpredictability and chaos of war. This contrasts with the rigid structure above and reflects how the photographer is conflicted internally. |
Need to learn about analysing Form? Visit our incredible GCSE English Form Analysis | EASY Beginner’s Grade 9 Guide.
Now, back to this guide…
IMAGE: “Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.”
CONTEXT and GRADE 9 ‘GOLD IDEAS’ in War Photographer...
| Context: Duffy is known for her empathy and interest in the human condition. | Her poetry often gives voice to ignored sections of society. Therefore, rather than another war poem about soldiers, “War Photographer” explores the wider emotional and psychological toll of war on civilians. |
| Context: By the late 20th century, war photography had become a crucial part of how the public perceives conflict. | Advances in photography and media meant that images of war were more immediate and graphic than ever before. Where the Vietnam War raised awareness about the human cost of war, the Gulf War video game-like TV coverage was claimed to have desensitised part of society to violence. |
| Idea: Professional detachment. | Professional detachment is maintaining emotional distance to perform a job effectively. In Duffy’s “War Photographer,” the photographer must stay detached to capture images of suffering and conflict that’s why his hands “tremble now” and didn’t “then” (in the war). Duffy suggests that suppressing feelings in this way cannot be healthy. “Fields that don’t explode” suggest the War Photographer cannot stop thinking about the war and sees danger everywhere – even when he is in safe “rural England.” |
| Idea: Whether war journalism is morally bad | War journalism can be seen as morally bad because it can take advantage of people’s pain for news stories. In Duffy’s “War Photographer,” the photographer captures tragic images, but people back home are often indifferent, implying the moral issue of displaying suffering without actually inspiring society into action or empathy. |
Possible GCSE English Literature Exam Questions about War Photographer by Carol Anne Duffy.
In each case below, don’t forget to explore language (techniques and keywords), structure and form to create a dramatic image. Some exam boards may require you to discuss context too (see our notes above) – make sure you check with your teacher or on the examination board website in the specification.
| Compare the ways Duffy presents the experiences of the war photographer in War Photographer? | Using the quotes above, focus your answer on how the writer presents war. This could be: The emotional impact on the war photographer. The portrayal of war images such as the children in stanza 2 and the man and his wife in stanza 3. Finally, you could also explore how war fails to create empathy in English readers. |
| How does Duffy portray the emotional impact of war on the photographer in War Photographer? | In this question, you need to focus your response on how the poet’s feels and behaves that is not normal. For instance: His is “finally” alone. He sets the film out in “ordered rows” He feels like a “priest”. He observes that the “fields…don’t explode” There are lots of examples in the poe. Go through the analysed quotes above and see which ones you could use. |
| How does Duffy contrast the war zones with life in England? | This question wants you to notice and explore how the poet describes the setting as well as the photographers thoughts and actions in both the war zone and England. England is about peace and safety where as the war zone is about chaos and violence. |
| Explore how Duffy presents the theme of isolation in War Photographer. | Overall the poet is isolated in two ways and he feels differently about each scenario. Firstly, he poet is thankful to be ‘finally” isolated and “alone” in his darkroom after the chaos of war. However, he is also sad to be isolated from his fellow Englishmen in their attitudes to the horrors of war. You should select several quotes for each that use different types of language and structural techniques. |
IMAGE: “From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where he earns his living and they do not care”
