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‘War Photographer’ Contrast 10 MarkerDiscuss how Carol Ann Duffy uses contrast in this poem and at least one other to highlight the poems’ main concerns. (10) CommonalityDuffy uses contrast to emphasise the theme and key ideas in many of her poems. For example, in War Photographer she contrasts England with warzones to highlight the horror of war and convey the idea that society don’t care enough about the suffering in warzones because it doesn’t affect them. Also, in Valentine Duffy uses contrast to show the contrasting sides of love. The poem is an extended metaphor and uses the unusual gift of an onion to convey the positive and negative sides of love.Extract“Rural England” is a minor sentence which conveys how peaceful and tranquil England is. Rural connotes an idyllic setting of calm fields and beautiful countryside. Whereas in warzones the field “explode beneath the feet of running children in a nightmare heat.” This stark contrast highlights the horror of war as we are reminded of the famous picture of children burned with napalm in Vietnam. Duffy shows us that innocent victims are killed by land mines in war zones and the metaphor “nightmare heat” suggests their pain in unimaginable the stuff of bad dreams. Our pain on the other hand is described as “ordinary” suggesting t is typical and minor in comparison the suffering in places of war. It is said that “simple weather can dispel” our pain, further emphasising the contrast and suggesting the sun can take away our worries and trouble. Our pain is easy to fix, whereas theirs is haunting and horrifying. ElsewhereContrast is also used in Valentine to explore the contrasting sides of love. To begin with, the extended metaphor of the onion reveals the positive nature of love. She compares the onion to a “moon wrapped in brown paper.” Just as the moon is round and light and is often used a romantic symbol, so too is the onion a sphere that is milky white and is being used to show the romantic side of love. The metaphor continues with the line “like the careful undressing of love,” which compares the peeling back of an onions layers to that of taking off the clothes of a lover as you grow more intimate. This reveals the passionate side of love. Duffy says it “promises light” and this suggests that love can be hopeful. It creates an optimistic tone and suggests that love has the potential to fulfil and give you a bright future. However, Duffy contrasts this hopeful and romantic opening and conveys the potential love has to harm you. “It will blind you with tears like a lover,” just as cutting an onion brings tears to your eyes with its strong and pungent smell, so too can a lover make you cry as love, or the loss of love has the potential to hurt and upset you. The contrast continues in the line “it will leave you a wobbling photo of grief,” grief suggests sorrow and heartache at the loss of love. Furthermore, Duffy uses juxtaposition to convey the two sides of love, “possessive and faithful.” The word choice “possessive” has connotations of control and feeling trapped by a lover, it refers to jealous lovers and unhealthy relationships, whereas “faithful” connotes a love that is loyal and stable. Finally, Duffy reinforces the contrast at the end of her poem when she compares the onions “platinum loops” to a wedding ring to convey the idea that love can be long lasting and result in a happy marriage, however she ends the poem with a warning: “Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers cling to your knife.” The minor sentence is abrupt and threatening as it suggests love has the potential to be life-threatening and violent. The repetition of “cling” reminds us of the previous idea of a “possessive” lover and suggest love is difficult to escape. It could also suggest that the memories of love are hard to get over. The word choice again is contrasting as “scent” suggests a pleasant aroma whereas “knife” has connotations of violence and pain. Duffy effectively uses contrast throughout the poem to show the two contrasting sides of love: the hurt and the pleasure it can bring. ................
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