The Manhunt - Simon Armitage

After the first phase,

The immediate opening isn’t very emotional - “first phase” sounds warlike or clinical - but juxtaposes with the “passion ate nights ”and “intimate days”.

after passionate nights and intimate days,

References the significant amount of time it takes for someone to recover from the physical and mental injuries suffered through war.

only then would he let me trace

the frozen river which ran through his face,

only then would he let me explore

Armitage employs a semantic field of searching, to try and understand the changes war has caused for her husband.

the blown hinge of his lower jaw

Suggests that he is physically injured as well as being unable to express his emotions to her.

and handle and hold

the damaged, porcelain collar bone

“Porcelain” has connotations of fragility and juxtaposes the conflict of war.

and mind and attend

Medical connotations - the wife is searching with the intent to heal her husband.

the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade

He has a loss in sense of direction and can’t steer himself - doesn’t know what to do.

and finger and thumb

the parachute silk of his punctured lung.

Oxymoronic - a parachute won’t work if its punctured - may suggest the husband feels he has no support network, which would make the wife feel sad and highlights the distance and disconnect in their relationship, caused by the war.

Only then could I bind the struts and climb the rungs of his broken ribs,

Reflects the casualties of conflict and human vulnerability.

and feel the hurt of his grazed heart.

The husband is unable to connect with his wife anymore, nor express his feelings.

the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had come to rest.

Suggests that the couple’s relationship will be forever changed by the experience, like how childbirth changes a relationship.

the foetus of metal beneath his chest where the bullet had come to rest.

Even though he has now left the warzone, the consequences of the conflict still have the potential to impact his current relationships, no matter how long lasting.

to a sweating, unexploded mine

buried deep in his mind, around which

Suggesting that the worst problem is mental rather than physical, and this causes the wife to have to take extra care around him. This shows the speaker as supportive and attentive, as she is aware of the effects of PTSD on the returned soldier

every nerve in his body had tightened and closed.

Then, and only then, did I come close.

Their relationship has been forever changed, she can only “come close” to helping him or discovering him again, and the “only then” suggests it took a long time to get to this stage.

Image Title Analysis

Image Title Analysis

Perspective

The poem is from the perspective of a soldier’s wife, and is actually based on a real woman: Laura. Laura is the wife of a peace-keeper in Bosnia in the 1990s, called Eddie Beddoes. He was discharged from service due to his injuries, both physical and mental. This is a sort of persona poem in this sense. It is from the first-person perspective which provides a very intimate and personal experience of love in times of conflict and war

Opening

The immediate opening isn’t very emotional. The “first phase” sounds warlike or clinical, showing how even though the speaker isn’t a soldier she is so involved with war that she has started taking on the vocabulary of war. However, this phrase juxtaposes with the “passionate nights” and “intimate days”.

➔  The references to time - “nights” and “days” - indicate the significant amount of time

it takes for someone to recover from the physical and mental injuries suffered through war.

The semantic field of searching begins in the opening with the verb “trace”. Here, the speaker is trying to search for the ways the war has hurt and changed her husband.

ending

The ending consolidates to the reader how their relationship has been forever changed. The speaker can only “come close” to helping her husband and the “only then” suggests it took a long time to get to this stage.

The adverb “close” emphasises how nobody can truly understand the trauma that war causes soldiers. It is evident that the thing which takes the longest to heal from war isn’t the physical injuries sustained by soldiers but instead the ongoing mental issues sustained. The ending shows the speaker as supportive and attentive, as she is aware of the effects of PTSD on the returned soldier

Structure

Couplets

The rhyming couplets used throughout the poem reflect how it takes two people working hard to complete a relationship, and how love is a union of two different people. This suggests that the relationship explored in the poem is very caring and gentle. The fact the couplets are rhyming shows that despite being physically apart, they are still close emotionally.

Rhyme Scheme

The poem opens with the first three couplets displaying an AA BB CC rhyme scheme. This could perhaps reflect how the soldier appears to be responding well to treatment physically at the start before the extent of the mental damage is revealed to the reader and the soldier’s wife.

After the first phase,

after passionate nights and intimate days,

only then would he let me trace

the frozen river which ran through his face,

only then would he let me explore the blown hinge of his lower jaw

However, this rhyme scheme quickly dissolves as the poem continues. The breakdown of the rhyme scheme juxtaposes with the idea that there was an improvement in the soldier’s mental and physical health.

On the other hand, it could reflect how the wife is exposed to and discovers the true extent of her husband’s injuries as time goes on, so the rhyme scheme starts to break alongside her realisation. The theme of fragmentation is displayed both through the faltering rhyme scheme and employment of couplets.

Language

Repetition

The repetition of “only then” suggests it is a very slow progress of getting returned soldiers to regain a sense of their past selves if they’ve been affected by PTSD. The comment also reflects the seemingly endless stages soldiers have to go through to try and recover from war.

Allusionary Language

The speaker uses a series of metaphors to compare the mental and physical damage inflicted on the husband through the horrors of war.

the blown hinge of his lower jaw the damaged, porcelain collar bone,

the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade, the parachute silk of his punctured lung.

These reflect how the wife has to go beyond the physical injuries that her husband has encountered to see the damage done to him mentally.

➔ Armitage uses the adjective “porcelain” to imply that the soldier is fragile and easily

damaged.

➔ The phrase “blown hinge” suggests irreversible damage, which may be a comment on the massive impact war can have on relationships.

➔ The “fractured rudder” hints at the mental damage caused by the injuries and implies that he is unable to control the direction of his mind or life.

Semantic field of searching

The poet presents the wife, or the speaker, as a character searching for both her husband and a way to help him out of the mental terror caused by the war which is now impacting him in the form of PTSD.

Medical terms

The language referencing searching juxtaposes with the more medical images implied through the language “mind” and “tend”. Here, both the semantics of searching and the semantics of caring are used in reference to the speaker. This suggests she both adheres to and subverts the stereotypes of a patriarchal society. She not only cares for her husband, she also researches the cause of his problems too - she is not a passive character by any means.

Symbols

The “foetus” is symbolic of change. Here, Armitage is suggesting that the couple’s relationship will be forever changed by the experience, like how childbirth changes a relationship. It could also be symbolic of the start of a new chapter of their lives.

The metaphor of “climb the rungs” relates to the series of steps taken by the wife and the soldier on the journey back to being recovered. This is symbolic of the struggles faced by soldiers when taken by war, as well as the intense gentle care taken by the speaker to help him.

Synopsis

●          Opens referencing the immense amount of time it took for the soldier’s wife to start exploring her husband both physically and emotionally again.

●          Talks about his fragile body and mind, as a result of the injuries he has suffered in the combat zone, as well as how his life now lacks direction.

●          Explores the continued potential for damage that the “foetus of metal” in his chest has.

Context

Simon Armitage (1963 - )

In 2019, Armitage became the new Poet Laureate, following Carol Ann Duffy in the post. He is a playwright and novelist as well as a poet, and attended the University of Manchester as well as studying in Portsmouth. He has worked in a number of occupations, and his poetry often relates back to his Yorkshire heritage (Armitage was born in Huddersfield) and often focuses on relatable situations in order to resonate with and engage the reader.

Written for “The Not Dead” (2007)

“The Not Dead” was a Channel 4 documentary about the impact of war on soldiers returning home. It was created in order to raise awareness about PTSD and encourage more recognition of it in society. Armitage later released a poetry collection of the same name featuring the poems from the series.

The collection was based on Guardsman Tromans who fought in Iraq in 2003 and suffered from PTSD as a result of their service. The poem and documentary coincided with changing public opinion as people were starting to oppose war. At this time the Iraq war was condemned as unnecessary, and potentially due to US oil greed. As a result of these more modern conflicts the public and military started to recognise PTSD, and Armitage’s poem helped raise awareness and incite sympathy

Poems featured also belong in a collection by Armitage also called “The Not Dead”, and ‘The

Manhunt’ was referred to as ‘Laura’s Poem’ as it has a female narrator. In the documentary, the poem is read by Laura who was the wife of a peace-keeper in Bosnia in the 1990s, called Eddie Beddoes. He was discharged from service due to his injuries, both physical and mental.