The Manhunt by Simon Armitage

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  • Created by: Davwi
  • Created on: 09-03-19 20:12

Title- 'The Manhunt'

  • The title 'manhunt' suggests some sort of search.
  • It suggest the soldier's wife has lost him and is searching for him- he has PTSD.
  • Very non-specific meaning it could present a universal issue- it is not only her who has lost her husband to PTSD through war.
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Context

  • Simon Armitage never fought in a war so he had to be careful not to misconstrue events.
  • It is sometimes subtitled 'Laura's poem', as it is told as if it is from his wife's point of view.
  • The soldier talked about in the video suffered from deppression and PTSD as a result of war in Afghanistan.
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'after passionate nights and intimate days'

  • The first couplet could be a traditional love poem, and echoes the first stages of a new love and suggests the couple are trying to reconnect.
  • 'after' suggests there was a lot of waiting that had to be done- it takes time.
  • 'passionate' and 'intimate' shows how close she needs to be to him, as if she must protect him.
  • 'nights' and 'days' are mentions of time and suggest that she has to be loving and try hard all the time with him.
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'only then would he let me trace' 'only then would

  • 'only then' suggests it takes time for the couple to reconnect.
  • 'trace' is very tentative, showing how she must be careful around him, because of his PTSD.
  • 'explore' suggests they have had to start again as if she is getting to know him as if he is a stranger to her because of his PTSD.
  • The phrase 'let me' shows she requires permission, as if PTSD is restricting their love.
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'handle and hold' 'mind and attend' 'finger and th

  • Use of these verbs represents how it may have drawn them closer.
  • All very tentative- represents how war means she has to be careful around him.
  • Conveys her active part in trying to help him get better.
  • Similar structural repetition suggests that it is repetitive and takes a lot of time.
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'parachute silk of his punctured lung'

  • Thin material suggests how fragile the soldier is.
  • 'Punctured lung' suggests deflation- it is difficult at times for them both.
  • A damaged parachute is useless.
  • Lung is a vital organ, representing how he could possibly be lucky to be alive.
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'and feel the hurt of his grazed heart'

  • Half-rhyme could suggest she only partially understands the link between his emotional and physical pain.
  • 'Grazed' has a double meaning- the bullet grazed his heart literally, but it also left emotional grazes behind.
  • 'Feel' suggests she is still trying to understand him and his pain.
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'and feel the hurt of his grazed heart'

  • Half-rhyme could suggest she only partially understands the link between his emotional and physical pain.
  • 'Grazed' has a double meaning- the bullet grazed his heart literally, but it also left emotional grazes behind.
  • 'Feel' suggests she is still trying to understand him and his pain.
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'the foetus of metal beneath his chest'

  • Metaphor comparing the bullet to a foetus suggests his experiences are now a part of him.
  • It could also hint his injuries were life-changing.
  • A foetus and a bullet are polar opposites- a foetus is the start of life, but a bullet usually causes the end of life.
  • 'Beneath' suggests it is a deep issue she has to delve into to understand.
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'a sweating unexploded mine buried deep in his min

  • A 'mine' explodes easily, like how PTSD causes outbursts.
  • A 'sweating bomb' presents the tension and stress he is under.
  • 'Unexploded' suggests he hasn't resolved his experiences from war.
  • 'buried' presents death- perhaps his old self is dead.
  • 'buried deep in his mind' suggests the issues are hidden and take a lot of work to get to.
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'Then, and only then, did I come close'

  • The last lines don't fully rhyme- shows progress by the wife is incomplete
  • The last line is the only sentence that lies on one whole line, giving emphasis to the fact that her husband's psychological scars are worse than his physical ones.
  • She has only come 'close', meaning she is still a way away from fully understanding him.
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