By Carol Ann Duffy (Poem Analysis)

"In his darkroom 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.

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.

Something is happening. A stranger's features

faintly start to twist before his eyes

a half-formed ghost. He rem

If you looked closely at the way language is used in the poem, you might notice:

following ideas are contained in the poem. It is up to you to place them in the order that you think best reflects the poet's thoughts.

From the aeroplane he stares impassively at where

and do nothing, in a bitter and cutting way. Sympathising with those suffering through war (particularly

from which his editor will pick out five or six

situations he was in. He sends them off to the Sunday newspaper for which he works, and the editor chooses the ones he wants to print.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Subject Matter, England Home, Ideas Attitudes, Poem Analysis, Phnom Penh, war photographer, poem written, spools suffering set, earns living, suffering set rows, rural england, set rows, suffering set, beneath feet, spools suffering, light red, running children,
Approximate Word count = 1664
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)