READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGE (CLASS 11 AND 12)

SOLVED WORKSHEET 3

War Photographer

Dame Carol Ann Duffy ( born 23 December 1955 age 65 years) is a British poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019.

READ THE POEM CAREFULLY AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW:
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

1. What is the setting of the poem?
War Photographer' begins in a very private setting, which is “In his darkroom,” which means a place of peace and tranquillity. The man (photographer) has been to all the trouble spots of the world, such as “Belfast, Beirut, and Phnom Penh.” This shows the extent of unrest in the world.
2. What is common in “Belfast, Beirut, and Phnom Penh.
The last line of this first stanza gives three cities. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, known for the Troubles of the 1970s and 80s (involving the IRA and Loyalist paramilitaries). Beirut is the capital of Lebanon, war torn for decades. Phnom Penh is the biggest city in Cambodia, also subject to violence during the Vietnam War of the 1960s and 70s. All these three cities have seen bloody wars.
3. Explain ‘spools of suffering’ ‘set out in ordered rows’.
Spools of suffering is a Metaphor. The coils of photographic films reveal the horrors of war. They are not simple coils of photographic films but sufferings of the people in the war. Set out in ordered rows creates an imagery of graveyard and indirectly gives an account of death of people due to a war situation.
4. The photographer’s room is compared to a church and the photographer is compared to a priest why?
The poet is compared to a priest here because the way he prepares the photos for development is sombre, respectful and almost ritualistic. It shows how seriously the photographer does his job.
5. Why does the poet say all flesh is grass?
Taken from the book of Isaiah. While the original verse means that life is nothing without God, Duffy mentions that we all die, and become earth again. She creates a dark image.
6. What is the dual definition of the onomatopoeic phrase 'solutions slop in trays'?

The use of words like “Solutions” in the poem not only means the developing fluid in the trays, but it also means to suggest the idea of resolving the political problems which primarily cause war. It also suggests that he has the power to evoke a solution to the things he is photographing.

7. Analyse how Duffy conveys the photographer’s perception of the difference between life in Britain and life in the war zones abroad.

He considers the contrast between “Rural England” and the war zones that he visits, noting how our “ordinary” problems can be dispelled by the simplicity of clement weather. The injustice of the situation is exemplified when he notes how our children don’t have to be fearful of landmines when they are at play. One of the most iconic images of war photography is deliberately evoked in the final line of stanza two: “of running children in a nightmare heat”. This photograph, of children fleeing a napalm ( a type of bomb ) attack in Vietnam directly helped to end this conflict and emphasises just how indifferent we have become today when similar images fail to resonate with us. 

8. In stanza 3 how does the poet brings out our increasing indifference to the victims of conflict.

The photographs were taken in the war start appearing on the print like a half-formed ghost of the dead man's photograph. While developing the pictures, he sees the “half-formed ghost” (the poet uses a metaphor) of a man. The picture shows a dead man. It looks ghostly and literally the image haunts him. He takes pictures to show to his people what is happening but he cannot help the victim.

The picture of the dead man’s wife also starts coming to his mind. He remembers her cries and thinks about how he was able to seek the approval of that dead man’s wife. Though getting her permission to take her dead husband’s photograph was tough enough, yet he could make it without speaking even a single word to her. This was a very traumatic situation for the photographer. It is as if the wife should allow him to record the event while the bloodstains “into foreign dust”.

9. In stanza 4 the poet brings out the difference in attitude between the photographer and the editor?

The photographer shows hundred pictures to the editor from which he chooses 5 or 6. The poet shows the lack of emotion that the Editor shows when faced with these images – he doesn't have the emotional connection the photographer does.

10. In stanza 4 the photographer emphasises the suffering but what is the attitude of the readers?

The photos emphasis the misery and suffering of the people who suffered a war, But the pictures don't get the readership he hopes for - they are an add-on to the paper, rather than taking the centre stage he feels they deserve. The emotions of the people are quite temporary and very soon they get on with their lives and go back to beers.

11. What is the tone of the poet in the last two lines?
Duffy's tone is anger here, as she makes us question how we react to images of human suffering. The pace of the poem is quick here to emphasise this. He has to detach himself from this world in order to cope with his job and return to it once again.
12. What is the message conveyed in this poem?

Duffy was inspired to write this poem by her friendship with a war photographer. She was especially intrigued by the peculiar challenge faced by these people whose job requires them to record terrible, horrific events without being able to directly help their subjects.