Extremely detailed annotations on each unseen poem in the relationship cluster:
Simon Armitage: The Manhunt
Carol Ann Duffy: Hour
James Fenton: In Paris with You
Carol Ann Duffy: Quickdraw
Mimi Khalvati: Ghazal
Andrew Forster: Brothers
Grace Nichols: Praise Song for My Mother
Simon Armitage: Harmo...
Suggests he just wants her for sex
To His Coy Mistress Objectifying her as his property
Many commas to slow reading & emphasize the idea of eternity
Had we but world enough, and time,
Coyness- shyness- Shows lady’s reluctance
This coyness, lady, were no crime, Alliteration emphasises that coyness isn’t a crime if they have all
We would sit down and think which way the time in the world
To walk, and pass our long love’s day. River represents the journey- the flow of life. Suggests their
Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side relationship is natural
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide Suggests she’s is his precious gem- valuable to him? Or is he just trying
Of Humber would complain. I would to woo her?
Love you ten years before the flood, Biblical reference- just after beginning of time & then just before the end
of the world
And you should, if you please, refuse Religious reference contrasts to the idea of him wanting to give into lust.
Till the conversion of the Jews. It’s an intense way to persuade someone & so portrays his desperation.
My vegetable love should grow Hidden love, as carrots grow underground, that is deep & rooted. Also
Vaster than empires and more slow; suggests organic love- the love without the pressure of anything but
An hundred years should go to praise nature hinting that sex is natural.
Hints to the male genitals referring to what he wants to do
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Hyperbole & a list to emphasize if he had all the time in the world he
Two hundred to adore each breast, would wait. He is describing the romance that they don’t have time
But thirty thousand to the rest; for. May be false flattery.
An age at least to every part, Suggests that love will only develop at the very end. Hinting by
And the last age should show your heart. having sex with him she will show her love.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Word rate links with heart rate suggesting his love for her makes his heartbeat.
Nor would I love at lower rate. Personifying time & a metaphor for death -word ‘chariot’ has been used to
emphasize how quickly time goes by, enhancing the idea of the cliché ‘time
But at my back I always hear flies’. A chariot is usually associated with war suggesting that time is always
Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near; fighting & will eventually lead to death, enhancing the power of time.
A sense of urgency is created & we realise that the narrator is trying to
And yonder all before us lie shock his coy mistress into sleeping with him. Time is always chasing us
since no one lives forever.
Deserts of vast eternity.
Each human life is like a single grain of sand in the desert we are
Thy beauty shall no more be found; insignificant in a vast desert. So why wait?
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound Can’t be beautiful if you’re dead, no songs are heard in tombs
My echoing song; then worms shall try Non-romantic image. He uses a disgusting image to try & persuade his
That long-preserved virginity, mistress to give his virginity to him rather than wait & lose it to the
worms
And your quaint honour turn to dust, Pun- quaint is a euphemism for vagina. By making jokes about her vagina
And into ashes all my lust; he is telling her that she can’t take her virginity with her into the afterlife
The grave’s a fine and private place, Contrasts honour & lust to emphasize whether we live by honour or lust
we still end up as dust
But none, I think, do there embrace.
, Simile to show life in a day- he is reminding her that she won’t stay
Now therefore, while the youthful hue young forever. Dew very quickly disappears as the day advances & as
Sits on thy skin like morning dew, will her youthful appearance. This emphasizes his urgency.
And while thy willing soul transpires Spontaneity & desire
The fiery sweat of desire will seep through her pores & burn the youthful
At every pore with instant fires, dew of innocence on her skin
Simile- uses quite aggressive language hints to his barely contained
Now let us sport us while we may, desires. The animalistic imagery suggests that they should give into their
And now, like amorous birds of prey, instincts showing the desperation
Rather at once our time devour Time deserves to be eaten- made the most of
Than languish in his slow-chapped power.
Strength- masculinity
Let us roll all our strength and all Sweetness- femininity
Our sweetness up into one ball, Wants to combine them together in the action of sex (atonement)
And tear our pleasures with rough strife Sex is in another life- it is a way to break out of the prison of time
Through the iron gates of life: Although we cannot stop time it will have to catch us up to end our
Thus, though we cannot make our sun existence
He is hopeful that they will make love shows impatience as he just
Stand still, yet we will make him run. wants to do it now.
Structure
Iambic (tee tum) tetrameter structure usually Marvell uses iambic pentameter- may be shortening
metre to show the limited time
Formal structure reflects his careful logical ideas to suggest sex wouldn’t be an irregular thing to do
Rhyming couplets- display narrator wants them to physically connect together. Creates a unity of
ideas and tells us they are a couple.
3 stanzas- stanza 1- immortality- the imagination of life without limits- narrators suggesting what he
would do if he had all the time in the world- fantasizing
Stanza 2- death- facing the reality of limited life- time passes quick- fantasies destroyed
Stanza 3- seduction- provides a solution on how to live and love within the limited amount of time-
shouldn’t wait- blends fantasy and reality to try and make a reasonable solution
Narrator seems to get more desperate each stanza suggesting time’s running out
The form is a dramatic monologue- reader feels like they’re eavesdropping
, The title is a pun. A Manhunt is an
intensive search for a person, often a
criminal. Here it is a wife who is
‘hunting’ for the man she once knew,
The Manhunt who seems to have disappeared after
his war experience. This could be a traditional love poem, suggests they were very intimate
(possibly sexually). This is misleading at the start. The 'first phase' seems
After the first phase, to suggest that this 'Manhunt' of trying to find the man that the person
once knew was carried out in a series of phases & that the sexual intimacy
in the rebuilding of their relationship was merely only the beginning. This
is strange because usually a relationship begins with getting to know each
after passionate nights and intimate days, other than having a sexual relationship, but in this poem it seems to be the
other way around.
Power verb to emphasize the wife’s ‘hunt’ for her husband. Her approach is gentle &
tender highlighting the wife’s patience. When something is lost the first step is to
carefully retrace your steps. It takes time for him to let her near his wound.
Metaphor-reduces the soldier’s body to an unloving object as though he no
only then would he let me trace longer has life. It could display his scar; he has had time to heal physically
from his injuries. The frozen river could imply blood which was originally
there and now he has a permanent reminder of this injury. There is also
the frozen river which ran through his face, imagery of tears, emphasizing the emotional trauma he may be going
through- ‘river of tears’ suggests he has so much emotion in him but he can’t
‘only then’ is repeated 4 times in the let the tears out, he feels shut out & helpless. The tears are stuck ‘frozen’. If a
poem to highlight that small steps are river is frozen it is unable to do what it is designed to do & flow. Like a frozen
being taken. It emphasizes the slow river the man is not able to function after his trauma. There is a depth to his
process & how gradually the wife is feelings. There are also connotations of being cold & numb used to
able to approach her husband. She is demonstrate the pain of his experience has left him unable to feel anything.
not forcing her way through, but
allowing her partner to slowly open up. Powerful verb to emphasize the wife’s ‘hunt’ for her husband. Her approach is gentle &
she doesn’t do it until her husband’s comfortable with the search. After retracing steps to
find something lost you need to explore the places you’ve found. The word ‘explore’ is
only then would he let me explore very thorough, emphasizing how the wife doesn’t want to miss anything. To explore is
deeper than trace so it highlights the man is opening up.
the blown hinge of his lower jaw, Metaphor- reducing the soldier’s body to an unloving object as though he no longer has
life. It suggests that he is unable to talk to her; this could be metaphoric meaning he is
unable to express his emotions or literal & refer to an injury sustained at war. The word
‘hinge’ creates imagery of a door, it is a flexible attachment which allows things to open
& shut. A door with a broken hinge is unable to function & impossible to open. The wife
needs to fix the hinges before her husband can reveal what’s inside.
Repetition of the first line of the poem by having two verbs. This suggests that this process is on-going,
present & active. The verbs are very gentle emphasizing the caring nature of the wife. The alliteration of
‘h’ creates a soft sound suggesting that the wife is trying to tread carefully & not make his pain worse.
and handle and hold Starting the stanza with ‘and’ emphasizes that the process is on-going. The repetition of this word also
highlights just how many steps the wife must take to find her husband. This exemplifies the depth of
her love & what she is willing to do to save it.
the damaged, porcelain collar-bone, Metaphor- reducing the soldier’s body to an unloving object as though he no longer
has life. Her husband is described as something broken & delicate. The pair of words
‘damaged’ & ‘porcelain’ contrast something soft with something harsh. This
emphasizes the great effect which can be made when putting these things together.
A delicate body can become very hurt when in the harsh conditions of war. A human
body has a vulnerable nature. Instead of a full rhyme a half rhyme is used her to show
that the wife is slowly moving from the surface injuries into deeper injuries that
cannot be explored from a skin deep relationship.
Starting the stanza with ‘and’ emphasizes that the process is on-going. The repetition of this word also
highlights just how many steps the wife must take to find her husband. This exemplifies the depth of
and mind and attend
her love & what she is willing to do to save it. There is repetition of the first line of the poem by having
two verbs. This suggests that this process is on-going, present & active.
the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade, Metaphor: reducing the soldier’s body to an unloving object as though he no
longer has life. A ’rudder’ is a device used to steer a ship. If it is broken it cannot
function the ship properly. Mechanics of the body links to war imagery.
, Starting the stanza with ‘and’ emphasizes that the process is on-going. The repetition of this word also
highlights just how many steps the wife must take to find her husband. This exemplifies the depth of
her love & what she is willing to do to save it.
She is trying to give him a healing touch. There is repetition of the first line of the poem by having two
verbs. This suggests that this process is on-going, present & active.
and finger and thumb
Metaphor: reducing the soldier’s body to an unloving object as though he no
longer has life. Parachutes are used in the military & a damaged one would be
the parachute silk of his punctured lung. useless. This emphasizes that war has broken the man & he cannot function
anymore. He feels that he can no longer be used as he’s sustained great injuries.
‘Silk’ is delicate which emphasizes how fragile the human body is. The lung is
parachute shape & perhaps its shape saved him although got damaged in its
efforts. The soft ‘s’ sound displays the fragility of the silk & contrasts with the
plosive ‘p’ sound in the word ‘punctured’. This juxtaposition perhaps displays the
couple’s relationship; his violent wounds are met with her tender love.
The words ‘struts’ & ‘rungs’ make the reader picture a ladder which the war victim is trying
to climb. This is reflective of the effort involved in the wife’s gradual search for answers.
Metaphorically it suggests his battle to climb out of his low mental state as well as
physically heal. It also creates the image of the wife getting closer & closer to his heart
Only then could I bind the struts emphasizing how she wants to feel emotionally close to him again. This displays the small
steps she is taking to reach her husband. She is devoted to her husband, highlighted by
this sensual image of her hands exploring the altered body of her partner.
and climb the rungs of his broken ribs, His wife wants to ‘bind’ him back together & fix him so that he can come back
and live the life the war has stolen from him. She is trying to stop him breaking
anymore & heal his mind as well as his body.
The word ‘grazed’ suggests that he can get better. His heart is wounded & so their love is damaged by this
emotional separation but they can recover. End stop at heart emphasizes it’s the deepest place she can go.
Perhaps it literally means from an injury caused by "the metal beneath his chest". He is unable to connect
with his wife, unwilling to speak of his experiences, & so their loving relationship is affected.
and feel the hurt If she can feel the emotions he feels she will share the pain with him & be able to understand what he needs.
Alliteration & repetition of the consonance ‘h’ suggests that the hurt is felt in his heart. It emphasizes his
of his grazed heart. emotional pain & it is almost as if the pain he feels needs to be released like the breath of air when the
words are said.
Skirting along, Carefully & slowly, emphasizing the patience of the wife.
She is checking him over physically & emotionally. Also links to the next line were she
only then could I picture the scan, discovers the bullet. She is trying to get an overall picture of what happened.
The word ‘foetus’ gives images & connotations to a baby. A baby changes a
couple’s relationship, as does war. The word ‘foetus’ is used instead of ‘child’ to
express ideas about a growth inside a person. The memory of war is growing & he
can’t get it off his chest. The juxtaposition of this ‘foetus’ with a bullet is a complete
contrast. A baby needs caring for & a bullet is harmful. This refers to the fact the
bullet has caused pain which needs nursing. A baby brings new life & a bullet brings
death, perhaps this is displaying the old man has died & a new one has been born. A
the foetus of metal beneath his chest baby is normally thought of as positive, as it is something which brings people
together. Maybe these wounds will bring the husband & wife closer together.
where the bullet had finally come to rest. The word ‘beneath’ perhaps illustrates that the pain was hidden from his wife
as he cannot get it of his chest. It has been pushed deep inside, far from the
surface & is hidden. His chest is the root of most of his pain physically &
emotionally. It caused the most hurt & the memory cannot be removed.
The word ‘rest’ illustrates images of death & loss. It also depicts the fact that
the bullet is staying there in his chest & not leaving, perhaps in the same way
the memories of war will always be with him. This line is also ‘end stopped’
emphasizing the connotations of death & something coming to an end. It is
permanently there & it may possible kill him.
, Refers to the title- she is searching for the man she married. Now she is looking for more ways to
help him. The sibilance gives it a sinister tone suggesting that the source is not going to be
Then I widened the search, pleasant to find; it will be an image of pain & suffering.
She is going back to what happened to find out what scarred her husband. The
enjambment shows that this bit of the recovery will take the longest & it will be
traced the scarring back to its source hardest to find the source.
The word ‘sweating’ personifies the mine emphasizing how powerful & dangerous it can
be. it suggests tension & stress which the memories cause. Also refers to this being the
source & what he felt like in the heat of the accident. It suggests that the mine is close
to breaking point & is trying hard to keep from going off. May also refer to the man
trying to stop himself letting all of his emotions out, causing him to sweat.
Ultimately the ‘un-exploded mine’ will explode & lead to death, this creates a
to a sweating, unexploded mine tense atmosphere & a sense of holding back as the narrator is being very. It has
not exploded yet emphasizing that she doesn’t know what will happen. If she
pushes to far he could crumble, she has to defuse the bomb (memory) before it
buried deep in his mind, around which completely destroys her husband. The source of the problem is not physical but
mental, & threatens to cause problems at any time. The importance of the wife's
care & delicacy is highlighted by her discovery of this problem.
‘Mine’ & ‘mind’ are half rhyming. This represents the discordant of not only the
poem, but the relationship also.
The centre of his problems is psychological & emotional. It will be hard to reach as
it has implanted into his brain very far down.
every nerve in his body had tightened and closed. Ambiguity (unknown)- this suggests that she had to wait until
now to get ‘close’ to him, but also that she has only come close. It
is not over as she hasn’t succeeded however it may also hint that
Then, and only then, did I come close. they’ve become closer in their relationship. Her search is not fully
successful, she only comes "close", & only after she realises that
her husband's problems lie as much in memories of his
The repetition of ‘then’ experiences as they do in his physical scars.
emphasizes the final
steps in the manhunt.
Structure
A soldier has returned home from war, having been injured badly. The poem’s narrator is his wife. The poem deals with the
difficulties faced by them both
The poem consists of couplets some rhyme; some use assonances (vowel rhymes) some don’t rhyme at all. This makes the
poem seem fragmented which reflects both the soldier and the husband and wife relationship. The wife is trying to piece
fragments together to find her husband. The fact that the lines are set out in couplets reflects the togetherness of the
couple and that the wife wants them to become one again.
The enjambment used throughout suggests that pain continues and process of finding what wrong is active and running
on.
Each stanza is short representing the small steps the wife takes to find her husband. This reflects the wife’s patience and
determination to reclaim their love. It also describes how she is analysing each injury getting closer and closer to his heart
each time. She is treading carefully so she does not worsen his pain.
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