Hello, welcome to your lesson today on analysing the poem "War Photographer" by Carol Ann Duffy.

I'm Miss Sutherland, and I'll be learning with you today.

For this lesson, you are going to need your copy of the AQA Power and conflict anthology, so make sure you go and get your anthology before you continue with this lesson.

By the end of today's lesson, you would've explored how Duffy uses language and structure to present complex emotions in the poem "War Photographer." We have four keywords.

Let's go through them together.

The first is indifference.

Indifference means lack of interest, concern, or sympathy.

If someone is indifferent to something, they don't care about it or don't show any interest or concern towards it.

Repress, repress means to keep something under control and not let it come to the surface.

If you repress an emotion, you won't express it.

You'll keep it buried within you.

Disillusionment, disillusionment means disappointment and lost faith over something once regarded as good.

And caustic, caustic means sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way.

We see a caustic tone at the end of the poem "War Photographer." Now I want you to reread those definitions and jot any down that you feel the need to now.

Pause the video, revise the keywords.

These keywords will be coming up at a later point in today's lesson, so don't worry if you are not quite familiar with them yet.

Here's what we're going to be learning about today.

We'll first discuss complex emotions in the poem "War photographer." We'll find out what complex emotions Duffy explores and how she explores them through her use of technique.

And then in our second learning cycle, we'll be looking at the theme of control in "War Photographer." So let's start off with complex emotions in "War Photographer." Open your anthology now and read the poem "War Photographer." I want you to highlight any lines that seem to show the emotions of the war photographer.

Pause the video and get reading now.

So now you've had a read and a highlight, I to discuss which feelings does the experience.

Pause the video and discuss.

Let's go through some ideas.

You may have said, "The war photographer experiences guilt." And that could be guilt from feeling that he is safe in his home country, but the people he photographs are not.

It could also be guilt for taking the photos in the first place and capturing a moment that potentially should be private, such as a grieving moment.

We can also see the war photographer experiences trauma in this poem because he, in stanza 3, describes the harrowing flashbacks that he gets when he is away from the war zone, which is suggestive of PTSD.

We also see the war photographer feels a sense of duty and obligation in this poem because it is remarked that he must do this job and that he has to do this job.

So potentially, this war photographer feels a large responsibility.

And we also see frustration towards the end of the poem where the war photographer reflects on how the people in the country that he lives in are indifferent to the photos he takes.

So there are four emotions that you may have said the war photographer feels in this poem.

Now I want you to discuss the following.

First of all, what evidence is there that the photographer experiences guilt? And why do you think he experiences guilt? Discuss that question now.

You may have said, "He feels guilt about taking the photos of the suffering." And you may have said, "He feels guilt about feeling safe in his home country, but the people he spends time with in the war zones cannot feel their sense of safety and security." So he may question why he deserves to feel that, potentially, which leads to a feeling of guilt.

The next question I want you to discuss is what evidence is there that the photographer experiences trauma and why do you think he experiences trauma? There's some sentence answers on the screen to help you.

Pause the video and discuss.

If we look in stanza 3, we see the photographer experiences harrowing flashbacks of some of the experiences he had in the war zone, and that is a sign of trauma or PTSD, and he may experience trauma because although he's not directly involved in the war, he still witnesses bloodshed, suffering, and death every day whilst he does this job.

The next question is, what evidence is there that the photographer experiences frustration and why do you think he experiences frustration? Pause the video and discuss that now.

Off you go.

You may have noticed that the photographer experiences frustration at the people's indifference back where he lives, how they don't care about the photos he takes, how they turn a blind eye to suffering in war zones.

And the photographer may experience frustration in response to that because he dedicates his life to taking photographs in war zones.

In fact, he risks his life in order to fulfil that job.

And he does it, a lot of photographers did that because they want to spark something in other people's consciousness.

They want to raise awareness of suffering.

And they want to incite social action and to reduce suffering across the world.

And if people are indifferent to suffering when they look at the photos, it means that the photographer potentially feels that their job is futile, which could lead to frustration.

Last question to discuss is what evidence is there that the photographer experiences a sense of duty and why do you think he experiences a sense of duty.

Pause the video and discuss that now.

We see evidence that the photographer experiences a sense of duty for the way in which his job is described, is described as something he has to do and something that he must do.

And potentially, he feels that sense of duty because of the importance he places on his role.

He thinks that his role is crucial in reducing suffering in the world and giving a brighter future to those that are involved in the conflict.

He feels like his photos are a vehicle to social change.

And that's probably why he spirits this huge sense of responsibility and duty.

Let's check your understanding of what we've discussed.

The word must in the poem depicts the photographer's trauma, sense of duty, or frustration.

Pause the video and answer that question.

The word must in the poem depicts the photographer's sense of duty.

The word must reflects how he feels he needs to do his job.

He feels a duty to do this job because of the impact his photographs could have on the wider society in reducing suffering in war zones.

Next question is which stanza contains imagery that illustrates the photographer's traumatic memories? Pause the video and answer that question now.

Stanza 3 contains imagery that illustrates the photographer's traumatic memories.

We see the imagery that describes the harrowing flashbacks that he has in stanza 3.

Now I want you to answer these seven questions as annotations in your anthology.

They are going to help you analyse the complex emotions in "War Photographer" and how Duffy conveys them even more.

So on line 1, what could the dark place in which the photographer is in symbolise.

Line 3, which word in this line could depict inner conflict and why? Line 5, how is the photographer's job shown to be a sacred duty? And why is it considered this way? Line 8, which word here is suggestive of the photographer's trauma and why? Line 5, sorry, question 5, lines 9 to 12, what could the caesura symbolise? Remember, caesura is a pause in the middle of lines.

And how might the photographer experience complex emotions being back home? Number 6, I want you to look at stanza 3 now, pick one word, and discuss its connotations and how it could link to trauma.

Lastly, look at lines 23 and 24.

Which emotion might the photographer feel here and why? So there are your seven questions to help you explore the theme of complex emotions in "War Photographer." Pause the video and answer the questions now.

Great focus on that task.

Let's go through some possible answers.

For line 1, the dark place could symbolise isolation, depression, or trauma accumulated from the harrowing job that the photographer does.

Line 3, the word red in line 3 could symbolise inner conflict within the photographer's conscience as he photographs the pain of others.

If you think about colours as symbolising things, we could say that red symbolises a sense of doing the wrong thing or feeling guilty or acting in a way that disconnects with ethics.

So the word red could symbolise how the photographer might feel in a conflict, and that inner conflict might be guilt for photographing pain.

Line 5, how is the photographer's job shown to be a sacred duty and why is it considered this way? Line 5, the comparison of developing film to the ceremony of mass suggests that photographer sees his job as a sacred duty perhaps because he sees it as a vehicle for social change.

So as we've said, the photographer places a lot of importance on the job he does, and he makes it even seem sacred in line 5, and that could be because of the job's huge potential to evoke social change and be a vehicle for good.

Carrying on line 8, on line eight, the word tremble suggests the photographer is only just able to process his trauma.

Perhaps he had to repress his difficult emotions whilst taking the photos.

For lines 9 to 12, the caesura could symbolise how the photographer is part of a world that is separate from the war zones, and this may cause him guilt as he's safe, but those in his photographs aren't.

So notice on line 9, the photographer's home country is written followed by a full stop, which creates a caesura.

And that caesura separates the photographer's home country to the suffering of the war zones.

And as we've said, that could cause him guilt to be allowed that type of separation when he knows that those he photographs never have a break from the suffering and violence of their war zone.

Next question, I wanted you to pick one word from stanza 3 and discuss how it could link to trauma.

I've chosen the word ghost, which suggests the photographs of war victims haunt the photographer when he's back home in England, which is perhaps suggestive of his post-traumatic stress disorder.

And last question, on lines 23 and 24, what emotion might the photographer be feeling and why? I've said that on lines 23 and 24, I get the impression of the photographer's frustration and disillusionment that the citizens of the place in which he lives are indifferent to the pain of those in war zones.

And the monosyllabic final line conveys this.

Well done for answering all those questions and for gaining a better understanding of the complex emotions in "War Photographer." Let's now look at control in war photographer.

I want you to open your anthology and read the poem "War Photographer" once again.

Pause the video and have another read.

I now want you to discuss which aspects of language and structure in the poem reflect a sense of control.

Pause the video and discuss that now.

You might have said that there are four stanzas in this poem, and each of those Sanders has six lines, which seems like a very controlled structure for the poem to have.

There is also a very consistent rhyme scheme in this poem.

It goes ABBCDD, and that's the same throughout.

Next, the photograph film is described as ordered, and there is a short sentence and caesura on line 7, which seems very focused and strict.

So all of those aspects together can point to the sense of control in this poem.

Now, why do you think Duffy wanted to convey a strict sense of control in this poem? And how does it link back to the complex emotions of the photographer? Pause the video and discuss that now.

We are going to have a look at what the Oak students think about the strict sense of control in the poem.

Maybe you agree with them, maybe you had your own ideas, but let's consider how we can take some of their ideas on board.

So Sam says, "The strict sense of control could reflect the photographer's need to have control over his complex emotions and trauma." Jacob says, "The strict sense of control could reflect the act of photographing war and how it tries to neaten or simplify conflict." And Sophia says, "The strict sense of control in the poem juxtaposes with the chaos of war, which could reflect the disparity between war zones and life in Rural England." So all those Oak students have really brilliant ideas about why Duffy has made the poem so tightly controlled and why she may have alluded to this sense of control in the poem.

Very well done if you said anything like that or had a completely different idea.

Just remember, it's important to reflect on this sense of control in the poem because Duffy's obviously evoked a sense of control for a reason.

Now, answer this question to check your understanding of what we've talked about.

How is the structure of the poem tightly controlled? Pause the video and answer that question.

The structure of the poem is tightly controlled because the ABBCDD rhyme scheme is repeated throughout, and that is a very ordered and tight rhyme scheme, a very consistent rhyme scheme, which reflects a strong sense of control.

What might the tight and predictable structure of the poem suggest about the war photographers' relationship with his complex emotions? Pause the video and answer that question.

The predictable and tight structure of the poem might suggest that the photographer feels the need to keep his complex emotions under control.

He tries to keep them neat and tidy.

He tries to not let them take over his life.

He tries to not express them in the true messy way in which they occur within him.

And he may feel the need to keep them under control because, potentially, he wouldn't be able to do his job without keeping them under control.

Remember, the photographer sees his job as necessary and important, and potentially letting his emotions get the better of him would prevent him from taking those photos and doing the job and raising awareness of suffering in war zones.

He may also feel the need to keep his emotions under control because he wants to reserve the right to that trauma for the people who actually suffer directly in the war, the people he photographs.

He may feel like he is not allowed to experience the trauma and grief that he does because it's not his to experience.

Izzy thought of a very interesting and nuanced idea during her discussion just now.

She says, "I think the predictable structure of this poem reflects the stagnant indifference of the citizens who live outside of war zones.

I think this causes the photographer to become disillusioned, hence the caustic tone of the final stanza." And Andeep says that he thinks that's a brilliant idea.

He wants to know though how Izzy was able to identify the caustic tone of the final stanza.

Now have a think, what gives you a sense of the caustic tone in the final stanza of this poem? Pause the video and discuss.

Perhaps you notice the caustic tone through the use of plosives like p, b, k sounds, which make the at stanza feel like a harsh attack on those who are indifferent to suffering.

Andeep also notices that line 21 and 22, it seems that the poet is mocking how the citizens are so caught up in their meaningless and trivial matters, which could also add to Duffy's caustic tone.

Well done if you noticed any of that in the poem.

Now, what evidence is there for the caustic tone of the final stanza? Pause the video and answer that question.

The evidence for the caustic tone could come from the plosive sounds that give the stanza a feeling of being a harsh attack.

And we could say the reason for Duffy's use of caustic tone is the stagnant indifference of the people who look at the photographer's photos and don't do anything about them and don't react to them.

And Duffy, like Izzy said, could be showing the stagnant indifference also through the tight control in the structure of the poem.

Much like the structure of the poem doesn't change, neither does the indifference of those who look at the photos.

Now I want you to write a paragraph responding to the question, how does Duffy show how people cope with difficult emotions in "War Photographer"? You could write about the difficult emotions the photographer experiences and why, the language and structural choices suggestive of control and what they symbolise, the indifference of the people outside of war zones and the photographer's reaction to this.

Here's your checklist for your paragraph.

Make sure you start with a topic sentence that summarises your idea.

You use quotes from the poem.

You make strong inferences.

You mention the effects of literary devices.

Remember, don't just spot the device.

Make sure you mention the effect of it.

You should also be using tentative language to express possibility about why the poet chose to do something.

And then lastly, you can discuss any relevant contextual links for the poem.

Pause the video now and get writing.

Off you go.

Great job, everyone.

Great effort with your writing there.

Let's take a look at each student's contextual link within their paragraphs.

So Izzy's contextual link was that Duffy was friends with a famous war photographer called Don McCullin, which may have inspired her to write the poem as she saw what it was like to be a war photographer.

Andeep's contextual link is, "Being friends with a famous war photographer, Duffy may have witnessed the difficult emotions that war photographers faced and so may have wanted to raise awareness of the quiet trauma involved in this job." Whilst they both discuss the same piece of contextual detail, what they do with it is different.

So they both talk about Duffy having a friend who was a photojournalist, but Andeep, his response is slightly better.

The reason is because he uses participle phrases to expand on the same contextual information that Izzy used.

So Izzy has just simply stated that Duffy was friends with the war photographer.

Andeep has said the fact Duffy was friends with the war photographer means that, and he's explained what that means for Duffy.

He also evaluates the writer's purpose.

He says that Duffy may have wanted to raise awareness.

So Andeep a lot more with the same piece of contextual information.

I want you now to reread your work.

I want you to try and use a participle phrase 'cause that can help you expand on your contextual information and talk about it in a meaningful way.

And I want you to try and evaluate the writer's purpose.

You can evaluate the writer's purpose by using phrases or words such as criticise, teach, raise awareness of, advocate.

Pause the video, reread your work, and make any edits that you need to.

Off you go.

Brilliant reflections there, everyone, and well done for being so willing to improve your work.

Here's what we've learned today.

The poem reveals the difficult and complex emotions that a war photographer may experience.

The symbolic space of the dark room might suggest isolation and depression due to trauma.

The use of a tight and predictable structure in the poem may contrast the chaos of war with the order of civilian life.

The final stanza has a caustic tone created through sharp plosives and mocking the insensitivity of those who are indifferent to suffering.

And there is a sense of disillusionment communicated for the poem's simple monosyllabic final line.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope you've enjoyed analysing the poem "War Photographer," and I hope to see you in another lesson soon.