War Photographer

Form and structure

Meter

• It opens with a trochaic line, then an iambic: unsettling us

• This occurs throughout.

Rhyme:

• “grass” and “mass” is a half-rhyme, unsettling again

• End with rhyming couplet creates a ironic sense of closure

• internal rhyme “tears” and “beers”, should ironically create joy

in his dark room he is finally alone

with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows

Line 1: "In his dark room he is finally alone"

• Meter: Begins with trochaic rhythm (stress–unstress), drawing immediate attention.

• "Dark room": Symbolic—literally where film is developed, but also suggests a sinister or emotionally heavy purpose.

• Raises moral ambiguity: Is the photographer a dark figure, or simply documenting darkness?

• "Finally alone": Implies he is a loner, possibly finding comfort in solitude.

• Challenges expectations—perhaps he avoids people because of the horrors he’s witnessed.

Line 2: "With spools of suffering set out in ordered rows"

• Meter shift: Moves to iambic rhythm (unstress–stress), creating a subtle unsettling effect.

• "Spools of suffering": A metaphor—literally film spools, but metaphorically, records of human suffering.

• Sibilance: Repetition of soft 's' sounds ("spools of suffering set") adds a sinister, whispering tone.

• Suggests the sinister aspect of his work: observing but not intervening.

• "Ordered rows": Evokes graveyards or war cemeteries, reinforcing themes of death and remembrance.

• Suggests he profits from tragedy, raising the central moral conflict of the poem.

• Ends a rhyming couplet, giving a sense of eerie order amid suffering.

priest preparing to intone a Mass.

Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass

"priest preparing to intone a Mass"

• A metaphor comparing the photographer to a priest.

• Irony: A priest offers spiritual guidance and hope, but the photographer only records death—there is no salvation in his work.

• Suggests a loss of faith; Duffy may imply that God is absent amid such suffering.

• Plosive alliteration ("priest preparing") adds a violent tone, reflecting the deaths he captures.

"Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh."

• A list of war zones: from Belfast (Northern Ireland), to Beirut (Middle East), to Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

• Escalates in geographic and symbolic scale, reflecting the global nature of conflict.

• Each place represents widening devastation, from a region to an entire country.

• Positioned after the iambic phrase to further unsettle the rhythm and reflect emotional disturbance.

"All flesh is grass"

• A biblical allusion (Isaiah 40:6), suggesting mortality—all life is temporary.

• Traditionally comforting, implying divine order and afterlife.

• Ironic reinterpretation here: if God is absent, this line becomes tragic—life is cheap and disposable.

• Implies human lives are worthless, like grass trampled or cut down without thought.

• Could reflect the killer’s view, or even the photographer’s growing numbness.

• Raises a powerful contradiction: the photographer wants to make people feel the horror of war, but has perhaps lost his own ability to feel.

• Tragic irony: in trying to preserve human empathy, he may have sacrificed his own humanity.

The reader's eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.

1. Reader Reaction

• The line describes how readers briefly react to the war photographs.

• The word “prick” implies the tears are small, incomplete, or momentary—emotion is shallow.

2. Irony

• Internal rhyme (“tears” / “beers”) gives the line a light, even jolly tone.

• This tone is deeply ironic, as it contrasts with the serious content of the images.

3. Emotional Detachment

• The juxtaposition of "bath" and "pre-lunch beers" suggests the images are consumed in comfort, during leisure time.

• Readers quickly move on from the moment of sadness to self-indulgence (e.g. bathing, drinking).

4. Moral Critique

• Duffy critiques how modern audiences consume the suffering of others without real action or empathy.

• People may drink to avoid guilt or suppress uncomfortable truths.

• There's a sense that they ignore suffering abroad, and feel no responsibility (e.g. for helping refugees).

5. Tragic Irony

• Despite the photographer’s work and emotional cost, it has no lasting impact.

• He earns a living by provoking a fleeting emotional response, which is a “terrible irony”.