The Manhut is a poem written from the
perspective of a wife about her husbands
injuries sustained at war.
The poem explores the physical and mental
impacts of living with injuries sustained through
active service at war.
Themes
Emotional Pain
Physical Pain
Suffering
Imagery
Sibilance
Then I widened the search, traced
the scarring back to it source.
Emphasises the 'S' sound in every word and also slows the speed of
the reader down. It can also be used to create a dramatic feeling.
Repitition
And handle and hold the damaged porcelain
collar-bone, and mind and attend the
fractured rudder of a shoulder blade.
The use of repetition of "and" throughout the poem
illustrates to the reader that the wife's care for her husband
never stops she feels like the amount of injuries carries on.
Metaphor
The frozen river which ran through his face
Each stanza appears to have its own metaphor showing
the extent of his injuries as she cannot find a humanly
way to express how bad each injury is in her mind.
Tone
The tone of the poem at the start is reminiscant of
the past the narrator and the subject of the poem
had before he sustained his injuries.
After the first phase, after
passionate nights and intimate days
The tone throughout the rest of
the poem is caring as it shows
how the wife (the narrator) treats
the husband, the use of verbs
illustrates the care taken.
trace
search
explore
Structure
The poem is made up of a series of mostly
unrhyming couplets, this gives the feeling of
fragmentation and separation and echoes the
narrators feelings.
Language
The Manhunt
The tittle refers to capturing a man and this is ironic because the
poem shows the journey of the wife as she is trying to find her
husband after she seems to have lost him after his active service.
Thumb
There are lots of sensual verbs used
throughout the poem reflecting the
intimacy between husband and wife.
The use of these verbs illustrates the
journey the narrator is going on finding
her husband again.