Manhunt Simon Armitage

This poem is written from the point of view of:

• Simon Armitage

• The solider

• The wife of the man who went to conflict

• Ms Azad

Simon Armitage:

• Served in the army himself

• Interviewed men and the families of men who were injured in conflict and survived

• Wrote the poem about his brother

• Wrote a poem about his partner.

The man described in the poem:

• Fought in World War 2

• ought in the Gulf War in the 1990s

• Fought in the Boer War

• Was a peace keeper in Bosnia in the 1990s

This poem is about:

• The physical injuries this man sustained and the scars left behind

• The psychological effects of being in a war zone

• The wife’s journey to discovering what trauma her husband endured

• Depiction of the support soldiers receive when they return from conflict.

The poem is written in two line stanzas, some of which are full rhyming couplets and some of which are not. Why might Simon Armitage have done this?

• It could reflect how the couple’s relationship is up and down and turbulent at times, due to the post-traumatic stress (PTSD) he suffers from

• It could reflect how war affects relationships and can make them unpredictable

• Sometimes he forgot to make the lines rhyme

• He thought he would mix things up a bit.

The poem uses many strong comparisons, such as saying his facial scar is a ‘frozen river’. What technique is being used here?

• simile

• Juxtaposition

• metaphor

• hyperbole

The phrase ‘only then’ is repeated throughout the poem. What effect does this have? Tick all that apply

• It shows the wife is fed up with her husband and wants him to be how he used to be.

• It suggests the wife is very patient and is desperate to understand what her husband has gone through.

• The wife is sarcastic towards the recovery of her husband.

• It implies that the wife’s quest to understand her husband since he returned from war has been a long one.

The image of a ‘sweating, unexploded mine buried deep in his mind’ is a very powerful metaphor. What might this refer to? Tick all that apply

• He has some shrapnel stuck in his head

• The effects of war are psychologically long-lasting

• Since he has come back he seems to be sweating a lot.

• He is suffering from PTSD

What do you think the message of this poem could be?

Tick all the apply

• Love is stronger than hate and conflict.

• War heals distant relationships.

• War is pointless and futile

• War affects people and their relationships for many years