The Manhunt

Think about the images below. Can you find a quote from the poem to match?

War Poetry What do we expect of war poetry in terms

of themes, ideas and language?

What similarities and differences exist between these poems and Armitage’s?

Is ‘The Manhunt’ a war poem?

Background guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/nov/13/

lastnightstvforgottenheroe

  entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment

/books/poetry/article2785336.ece

library.digiguide.com/lib/uk-tv-highlight/Forgotten+Heroes-1765

independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/review-a-first-world-war-weepie-and-angry-poetry-from-old-soldiers-were-highlights-of-a-superb-remembrance-day-759959.html

Themes and Issues: ‘The boy came seeking comfort’ What event or situation does the poem

portray? Does this event take place in the past? The

present? Is it ongoing? What feelings and emotions are explored? What is the attitude of the narrator towards

the person who is the subject of the poem? How is this person presented?

Language: ‘White blisters beaded on his tender skin.’ How is imagery used? What is the effect of repetition? How is language used to describe each

loved one’s injuries? Discuss the use of military/warlike

language. What other features of language are used?

Structure: ‘My son would often feel sharp wounds again.’

What is the rhythm of the poem? Significance?

Narrative viewpoint? How does the poem begin, end and what

happens in between? Does the narrator come to any

conclusion/discovery? At what point?

Tone: ‘I took my billhook, honed the bladeAnd went outside and slashed in fury with it’

The tone at different points in the poem. How language and structural devices

contribute to the tone of the poem.