In this essay, we will explore how the effects of conflict on people are presented in Poppies by Jane Weir and compare it with War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy. Both poems focus on the emotional impact of conflict, though they do so in different ways. Poppies examines the personal grief of

a mother who has lost her son to war, while War Photographer delves into the inner turmoil of a photographer documenting war and the emotional distance felt by those who are not directly affected by it. Through powerful imagery and language, both poets show how conflict extends beyond the battlefield, affecting people’s lives in deep and lasting ways.

Effects of Conflict in Poppies by Jane Weir

Poppies is written from the perspective of a mother who reflects on her son leaving to fight in a war. The poem captures her feelings of grief, loss, and the emotional toll of saying goodbye to her son, knowing that he might

never return. The setting is before Armistice Sunday, a day of remembrance for soldiers who have died in wars, adding to the poignancy of the mother’s emotions.

The poem begins with the mother preparing her son’s clothes, pinning a poppy on his lapel. The poppy, a symbol of remembrance, immediately connects the personal loss to the broader context of war. The imagery of “spasms of paper red” suggests the fragility of life, with the word “spasms”

evoking pain and the color red symbolizing both the bloodshed of war and the love she has for her son. The use of delicate, domestic actions like pinning a poppy or smoothing his shirt emphasizes the ordinary moments

between a mother and her child, which are now filled with sorrow and dread because of the conflict.

Throughout the poem, Weir uses sensory language to show the mother’s suppressed emotions. She describes wanting to “graze my nose across the tip of your nose” and run her fingers through her son’s hair, but she holds

back, reflecting the internal struggle between her deep affection and her need to let him go. The “blackthorns” of his hair symbolize the pain she feels, as even these small, tender actions are now filled with tension and sadness.

The line “All my words flattened, rolled, turned into felt” represents the mother’s difficulty in expressing her feelings. The word “felt” conveys softness but also implies that her emotions have been suppressed and

compressed, just as felt is made by pressing fibers together. This reflects the emotional numbness she feels as she sends her son off to an unknown fate.

As the poem progresses, the mother’s grief intensifies. After her son leaves, she goes into his empty bedroom, where she “released a song bird from its cage.” This is a powerful metaphor for her son’s departure—he is now free,

but she is left behind, grieving. The image of the bird also symbolizes her emotions, as it flies away, leaving her with an empty space that can never be filled.

The poem ends with the mother standing at a war memorial, leaning against it “like a wishbone.” This suggests her hope that her son will return, but also the fragile nature of that hope. The wishbone, often broken to

make a wish, represents the tension between hope and despair. The final image of her listening for her son’s “playground voice” in the wind reflects her longing to hear him again, knowing that it is unlikely he will ever return. In Poppies, Weir powerfully conveys the emotional devastation of losing a child to war and how conflict leaves lasting scars on those left behind.

Effects of Conflict in War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy

In War Photographer, Carol Ann Duffy explores the emotional impact of war through the perspective of a photographer who captures images of conflict. The photographer is physically removed from the violence, but the

emotional burden of witnessing and documenting such horrors weighs heavily on him. Like the mother in Poppies, the photographer in War Photographer is deeply affected by conflict, but his struggle is with the distance between the traumatic scenes he photographs and the indifference of those who view his work.

The poem begins with the photographer in a darkroom, developing photographs of war. The darkroom symbolizes his isolation and the heavy emotional toll of his work. The line “spools of suffering set out in ordered rows” suggests the vast amount of pain he has witnessed, with the “ordered

rows” indicating how he tries to make sense of the chaos through his work. However, the “spools of suffering” suggest that the pain cannot be neatly contained or organized, and it continues to affect him emotionally.

Duffy uses religious imagery to emphasize the solemnity of the photographer’s work. He is described as “a priest preparing to intone a Mass,” suggesting that his role is sacred and that he feels a responsibility to bear witness to the suffering of others. However, the tone of the poem also

suggests a sense of futility, as the photographer knows that the people who view his photos will not truly understand or be moved by the horrors he has captured.

The contrast between the conflict zones and the safety of home is highlighted in the line “Home again to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel.” This suggests that while people in peaceful countries can complain about trivial matters, such as the weather, they are unaware of

the real suffering happening in war zones. The photographer’s frustration is clear—he knows that his photos will evoke a brief emotional response, but people will quickly forget and move on with their lives.

The poem also explores the emotional detachment that the photographer must develop in order to do his job. The line “He has a job to do” suggests that he must suppress his emotions in order to carry out his work. However,

the emotional toll of witnessing such violence is evident in the line “A hundred agonies in black-and-white.” The “agonies” captured in the photos reflect the immense suffering caused by war, and the fact that they are in “black-and-white” suggests the emotional numbness the photographer must adopt in order to cope with the trauma.

In the final stanza, the photographer’s frustration and sense of helplessness come to a head. The line “The reader’s eyeballs prick with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers” highlights the fleeting nature of the public’s response to his work. People may feel momentarily moved

by the images of suffering, but they quickly return to their comfortable lives, forgetting about the conflict. This sense of detachment is contrasted with the deep emotional burden carried by the photographer, who cannot forget the horrors he has seen.

Comparing Poppies and War Photographer

Both Poppies and War Photographer deal with the emotional effects of conflict on those who are not directly involved in the fighting but are still deeply affected by it. In Poppies, the focus is on the personal grief of a

mother who has lost her son to war. The poem explores how conflict can tear families apart, leaving those left behind to grapple with loss and the emotional aftermath of war. The mother’s grief is palpable, and the poem conveys the lasting impact that war has on the home front.

In War Photographer, the focus is on the emotional toll of witnessing conflict from a distance. The photographer is physically removed from the violence, but he is still deeply affected by the horrors he documents. The

poem explores the disconnect between the suffering in war zones and the indifference of those who view the photographs, highlighting the emotional burden carried by those who must bear witness to conflict.

Both poems use vivid imagery to convey the emotional effects of conflict. In Poppies, the imagery of the poppy, the songbird, and the wishbone all symbolize the mother’s grief and longing. In War Photographer, the spools of film, the darkroom, and the “hundred agonies in black-and-white” all emphasize the emotional weight of documenting conflict. Both poems show how conflict leaves lasting scars, not only on those who fight but also on those who are left behind or who must witness the violence from afar.

In conclusion, both Poppies and War Photographer present the effects of conflict on people in powerful and poignant ways. While Poppies focuses on the personal grief of a mother who has lost her son to war, War Photographer explores the emotional toll of witnessing and documenting conflict. Through vivid imagery and emotional language, both poets show how conflict affects not only the soldiers on the battlefield but also those who are left behind to grapple with the emotional aftermath. Both poems emphasize the lasting and far-reaching effects of conflict, leaving deep emotional scars on those who are connected to it.