The Manhunt by Simon Armitage (detailed analysis)

Summary

This script discusses Simon Armitage's poem 'The Manhunt,' part of the 2007 documentary 'Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead,' which focuses on the experiences of ex-soldiers and PTSD. The poem explores the physical and emotional trauma of a soldier, Eddie Bedo, through the eyes of his wife, Laura. Armitage uses delicate metaphors, sound patterns, and vivid imagery to illustrate the wife's gradual journey of reconnecting with her husband, whose injuries have altered him deeply. The poem reflects themes of healing, patience, and intimacy, emphasizing the long-lasting impact of war on soldiers and their families.

Takeaways

• 💡 The poem *The Manhunt* by Simon Armitage is part of a 2008 collection based on testimonies from ex-soldiers, focusing on their struggles with PTSD.
• 📊 A major study found that 13.5% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans screened positive for PTSD, with some studies showing even higher rates between 20% and 30%.
• 🎖️ The title *Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead* highlights how wounded veterans often go unnoticed compared to those who died in combat, suggesting that their lives are in limbo.
• 💔 *The Manhunt* is told from the perspective of Laura, the wife of a veteran, Eddie Bedo, who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries during his service in Bosnia.
• 🎯 The poem traces Eddie’s injuries and psychological scars, metaphorically depicting Laura’s slow and careful attempt to reconnect with her husband after his traumatic experience.
• 🖋️ The structure of the poem comprises 13 couplets, mostly end-stopped, with metaphors and enjambment used to reflect the slow, methodical process of healing.
• 💬 Eddie emphasizes the role of his wife in his recovery, calling her one of his 'biggest saviors,' while Laura reflects on her determination to stick by him despite the challenges.
• 🧠 The poem explores the layers of physical and emotional intimacy, suggesting that Eddie’s scars are barriers to full emotional connection, which Laura gradually navigates.
• 🔍 Armitage employs a range of poetic techniques, including alliteration, assonance, and metaphor, to evoke fragility, pain, and the ongoing impact of war on Eddie’s body and psyche.
• 🚶‍♀️ The poem’s tone is gentle and quiet, reflecting the care and patience Laura shows as she helps her husband cope with his past and begins to heal emotionally and physically.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of Simon Armitage's collection *Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead*?

The collection focuses on the testimonies of ex-soldiers who struggle with PTSD after surviving conflicts. It explores both the physical and psychological wounds they suffer.

What does the title *Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead* imply about returning soldiers?

The title suggests that soldiers who return wounded but alive are often overlooked in favor of those who have died in combat. While they survive, they are not necessarily regarded as heroes and are stuck in a kind of limbo, not fully alive.

Who is the speaker in Armitage's poem *The Manhunt*?

The speaker in *The Manhunt* is Laura, the wife of Eddie Bedo, a veteran who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries during his deployment in Bosnia.

What impact did Eddie Bedo's injuries have on him, according to the poem?

Eddie's injuries, which included life-threatening wounds to his face, jaw, ribs, lungs, and heart, had a lasting impact on him. He states that he was a different person before he got shot, indicating significant physical and psychological trauma.

How does Laura describe her relationship with Eddie after his injuries?

Laura describes her relationship with Eddie as one of deep support. She says she’s glad she stuck with him and now believes there's nothing she wouldn’t go through with him.

How does Armitage use structure and form in *The Manhunt* to reflect the couple's journey?

The poem consists of 13 couplets, with most couplets being end-stopped to evoke the careful and slow progress Laura makes in regaining Eddie's trust. The enjambment in certain stanzas reflects moments of anticipation and emotional depth.

What is the significance of the metaphor 'frozen river' in the poem?

The 'frozen river' metaphor evokes the scar running through Eddie's face, suggesting coldness and immobility. It reflects both his physical injury and emotional disconnection.

What does the phrase 'blown hinge of his lower jaw' symbolize?

The 'blown hinge' symbolizes Eddie's physical injury but also his inability to open up emotionally, reflecting his psychological barriers after the trauma.

What does the metaphor 'parachute silk of his punctured lung' convey?

The metaphor 'parachute silk' conveys the fragility of Eddie's physical state and the life-threatening nature of his injuries, as a punctured parachute can no longer function properly.

How does the poem depict Laura’s emotional journey in understanding Eddie’s trauma?

The poem shows Laura's journey as methodical and patient, gradually moving from superficial physical scars to the deeper emotional pain. By the end, she comes close to fully understanding him, but acknowledges that complete understanding may never be achieved.

Outlines

00:00

📝 The Origins of 'The Manhunt' and PTSD in Veterans

The poem 'The Manhunt,' written by Simon Armitage, was first aired in a 2007 Channel 4 documentary 'Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead' and later published in a 2008 collection of the same name. The collection focuses on veterans' testimonies, particularly those suffering from PTSD. Research has shown that PTSD affects many veterans, with studies reporting rates as high as 30%. The title alludes to the underappreciated plight of wounded veterans who are often overlooked in favor of fallen soldiers. While these veterans survive physically, their experiences leave them in a state of emotional limbo, unable to fully engage with life. 'The Manhunt' specifically highlights the struggles of a returning soldier, Eddie Bedo, through the perspective of his wife, Laura.

05:00

💔 Eddie Bedo's War Injuries and the Poem's Themes

Eddie Bedo, a veteran of the Bosnian conflict, describes the horrific injuries he sustained in detail, including a bullet that tore through his face, neck, and body, leaving lasting physical and psychological scars. This poem differs from others in the collection by featuring his wife, Laura, as the speaker. Through her eyes, we witness how Eddie's injuries transformed him, and the poem explores the painstaking journey Laura undertakes to reconnect with him. Eddie emphasizes the crucial support Laura provides, explaining that he couldn't function without her, highlighting the emotional toll war takes on families.

10:01

🌿 Laura's Gentle Persistence and Intimacy

The poem is structured in 13 couplets, divided into five sentences, with most couplets end-stopped to create a rhythmic pace, reflecting Laura's slow, careful progress in regaining her husband’s trust. As Laura traces the physical damage Eddie endured, she metaphorically follows the emotional scars left by the war. The enjambment in the 11th and 12th stanzas signals the tension and anticipation Laura feels as she approaches understanding the deeper source of Eddie's trauma. Simon Armitage employs a mix of sound patterns such as alliteration, consonance, and oblique rhyme to convey the poem's emotional complexity and tenderness.

15:03

🚶‍♀️ Emotional Depth in the Poetic Journey

As Laura moves through the stages of Eddie's physical recovery, the language in the poem reflects her increasing understanding of his emotional pain. Armitage uses metaphor and martial language to evoke Eddie’s lingering connection to war, such as 'phase' and 'bullet.' Despite reaching physical intimacy with Eddie, Laura’s journey toward emotional closeness is much more delicate. The poem’s use of gentle, caring language and martial metaphors reflects the difficulty of dealing with trauma, and how healing occurs in careful, methodical steps. This emotional distance between physical and emotional intimacy is explored with metaphors like 'the frozen river' and the delicate imagery of touching Eddie’s scars.

20:05

🧠 Scars of War and Emotional Healing

Laura’s journey to reconnect with Eddie continues as she carefully touches his physical scars, symbolizing the emotional wounds he has yet to reveal. The poem highlights the fragility of Eddie’s body through metaphors like 'porcelain collarbone' and 'fractured rudder,' indicating the emotional and physical impact of his injuries. Laura’s careful actions, described using polysyndeton and assonance, show her determination and patience in supporting Eddie. Each verb, such as 'handle' and 'hold,' conveys a sense of gentleness, while the martial imagery of parachutes and rudders illustrates Eddie's lingering disconnection from his former self.

🪡 Rebuilding Trust and Emotional Intimacy

Laura begins to feel closer to Eddie as she metaphorically binds his ribs and helps him heal emotionally. The use of climbing imagery, such as 'rungs of his broken ribs,' indicates the progress she’s made in mending his emotional wounds. Armitage emphasizes the fragility of Eddie’s emotional state through sound patterning and the shift in verbs from 'would let' to 'could,' marking Laura’s increasing confidence in helping her husband. As the poem progresses, Laura begins to feel Eddie’s emotional hurt, metaphorically depicted through his 'grazed heart,' showcasing her empathy and deepening emotional connection.

💣 The Psychological Trauma Beneath the Surface

Laura’s exploration of Eddie’s psychological trauma reaches a pivotal moment when she pictures the bullet lodged in his chest, described as a 'fetus of metal.' The juxtaposition of life and destruction through this metaphor reveals the depth of Eddie’s emotional wounds. As Laura traces the emotional source of his pain, the imagery of a 'sweating unexploded mine' reflects the volatility of his trauma. The tension builds as Laura nears the core of Eddie’s suffering, with every nerve in his body 'tightened and closed' around his emotional scars, indicating the potential danger if she missteps.

🎯 Nearing the Emotional Core

In the poem’s final sentence, Laura comes close to understanding the full extent of Eddie’s trauma. The repetition of 'then and only then' suggests that even after a long, careful journey, the emotional distance remains significant. Laura’s metaphorical hunt for Eddie’s true self—trapped by war trauma—ends with her acknowledging that complete empathy may be impossible. The almost-but-not-quite rhymes in the final lines echo this realization, reinforcing the idea that the journey to emotional intimacy is never fully complete.

📚 Conclusion and Next Steps

The video concludes by encouraging viewers to leave comments with any questions and to subscribe for more content on English language and literature topics. The speaker offers further discussions on exam techniques and in-depth analysis of literary texts, inviting engagement from the audience.

🔖 More Literature and English Language Content

The video wraps up by mentioning future discussions on English literature texts and examination strategies, aimed at students seeking to deepen their understanding of key topics in language and literature.

Keywords

💡PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. In the video, the condition is central to the theme as it discusses how many veterans, despite surviving physical injuries from combat, suffer from PTSD. This disorder deeply affects their lives, making it difficult for them to engage fully in everyday life, as illustrated by the veterans in the documentary.

💡Veteran

A veteran is someone who has served in the armed forces. In this context, the veterans discussed are those who have returned from conflicts such as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but they struggle with the psychological and physical scars of war. Their experiences of trauma are a key focus in Simon Armitage's poems, including the challenges they face with PTSD.

💡The Manhunt

The Manhunt is the title of one of the poems by Simon Armitage, which is discussed in the video. The poem metaphorically represents the search for a veteran’s emotional and psychological state after his physical injuries. It explores the slow process of emotional healing through the perspective of the veteran's wife, Laura, reflecting the poem’s themes of trauma and recovery.

💡Simon Armitage

Simon Armitage is a contemporary British poet whose work often deals with personal and societal issues. In the video, his collection 'The Not Dead' focuses on the testimonies of ex-soldiers and their struggles with PTSD. Armitage uses vivid imagery and metaphors to illustrate the lasting impact of war on veterans, both physically and mentally.

💡Physical and Psychological Scars

Physical and psychological scars refer to the lasting effects of both bodily injury and mental trauma. In the video, Eddie, a veteran, recounts the physical injuries he suffered from a bullet wound, while the poem explores the psychological scars left behind. These scars, especially the emotional ones, are harder to heal and often overlooked by society.

💡Laura

Laura is the wife of veteran Eddie Beddows, and she plays a central role in his recovery, both physically and emotionally. In the poem 'The Manhunt,' Laura’s perspective is explored as she painstakingly helps Eddie recover from his traumatic experiences. Her persistence and love are critical in rediscovering the man he was before his injuries.

💡Enjambment

Enjambment is a poetic device where a sentence or phrase runs over from one line to the next without a pause. In 'The Manhunt,' Armitage uses enjambment in several stanzas, especially when Laura gets closer to understanding the depth of Eddie’s psychological pain. This technique mirrors the ongoing and flowing nature of emotional healing.

💡Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme refers to the pattern of rhymes at the end of lines in poetry. Armitage varies his use of rhyme in 'The Manhunt.' Early stanzas use perfect rhymes to represent the easier phases of recovery, while later stanzas employ oblique and pararhyme to reflect the growing complexity of the healing process and the deeper emotional challenges.

💡War Imagery

War imagery is the use of language related to warfare to describe something. In 'The Manhunt,' Armitage uses terms like 'bullet,' 'mine,' and 'parachute silk' to describe Eddie’s injuries, symbolizing how deeply the war has affected his body and mind. This imagery helps convey the idea that the war continues to haunt veterans long after they have returned home.

💡Limbo

Limbo, in this context, refers to a state of being caught between life and death or between recovery and complete functionality. Armitage suggests that many veterans exist in a kind of limbo after returning from war: they are 'not dead' but not fully alive either, as they struggle with PTSD and the lasting impact of their traumatic experiences.

Highlights

The poem 'The Manhunt' explores the physical and psychological wounds sustained by soldiers, seen through the eyes of a wife helping her husband recover from severe injuries.

Eddie Bedo, the veteran in the poem, suffered life-threatening injuries in Bosnia, including damage to his jaw, ribs, lung, heart, and other vital areas.

The poem uses vivid metaphors like 'frozen river' and 'blown hinge' to describe Eddie's scars and his emotional isolation after the trauma.

The speaker, Eddie's wife Laura, plays a critical role in his healing, patiently working through both physical and emotional scars.

The structure of the poem, 13 stanzas of couplets, mirrors Laura's methodical and slow progress in reconnecting with her husband.

The use of enjambment in key stanzas reflects Laura's increasing anticipation and emotional connection with Eddie as she understands his pain more deeply.

Armitage employs sound techniques like alliteration, consonance, and assonance to give the poem cohesion and lyrical quality, enhancing its emotional depth.

The poem does not follow a formal rhyme scheme but uses perfect rhymes in the beginning to suggest the 'easy' part of recovery, contrasting with the complex emotional layers explored later.

Armitage contrasts sexual intimacy with deeper emotional and physical intimacy, showing that trust and healing take time.

The poem's martial semantic field, with words like 'phase' and 'bullet,' emphasizes the ongoing influence of war on Eddie’s rehabilitation and daily life.

The metaphor of the 'unexploded mine' buried in Eddie’s mind symbolizes his unresolved psychological trauma, which could still cause harm.

Armitage uses repetition of the phrase 'only then' to show how Eddie's wife can only progress in her efforts when he is ready, symbolizing the delicate nature of recovery.

The title 'The Manhunt' conveys the wife’s patient search for her husband’s true self, which has been lost in the aftermath of war.

The poem ends on a poignant note, suggesting that despite Laura's efforts, complete emotional healing remains elusive.

The juxtaposition of life-giving and destructive imagery, such as the 'fetus of metal,' highlights the tension between Eddie's survival and his ongoing suffering.

Transcripts

the manhunt or laura's poem

along with eight other poems by simon

armitage

first aired in a channel 4 documentary

entitled

forgotten heroes the not dead in the

winter of 2007

and later appeared in a collection of

the same name in 2008

most of the poems are inspired by the

testimonies of ex-soldiers

focusing on flashbacks that they have

struggled to forget

although they may have physically

survived the conflict

they now suffer from ptsd or

post-traumatic stress disorder

in one major study of 60 000 iraq and

afghanistan veterans

13.5 percent of both deployed and

non-deployed veterans screened positive

for ptsd

although other studies have shown higher

prevalence rates of 20 to 30 percent

the title of the collection forgotten

heroes the not dead

alludes to the way in which those who

are wounded but return

are not necessarily regarded as heroes

often overlooked in favor of those who

have died in combat

if someone is not dead logically they

are alive

but this word has positive connotations

of vitality and exuberance

through his choice of words armitage

appears to suggest that their existence

is a type of limbo

where they may be not dead but they are

also

not fully alive either unable to

participate completely

in everyday life

this poem differs from the others in the

collection in that the speaker is not an

ex-soldier

but returning veteran eddie bedo's wife

the laura of the title

eddie suffered life-threatening and

life-changing physical and psychological

injuries

while deployed in bosnia which he

catalogues in the documentary

and which armitage refers to in the poem

itself

eddie describes how a round hit him in

the face

and entered just beneath his eye

traveling through his cheek

and blowing out the corner of his bottom

jaw

it then went down his neck nicking the

carotid artery in the process

before bouncing off the shoulder blade

and collarbone

shattering both of them

it also broke his ribs puncturing his

lung and scarring the back of his heart

before it ricocheted off his rib cage

going through his lower diaphragm

scraping his stomach and puncturing his

intestine

before coming to rest by his kidney

he explains that this has had a lasting

impact on him

stating that he was a different person

before he got shot

this poem explores the impact of the

physical and psychological wounds

sustained during conflict

seen through the eyes of those at home

to whom these veterans return

and the way in which laura was able

through quiet and dogged determination

to rediscover and reconnect with a

husband who has been irreparably altered

by his physical and psychological scars

eddie explains her importance to him

fortunately my wife is one of my biggest

saviors

i really couldn't function without her

she's everything

i confess my sins tell her my fears

explain my emotions share my nightmares

and she doesn't have to understand

she just has to listen and she does

laura adds i'm glad i stuck with it

because i don't think i'd ever leave now

i don't think there's anything now that

i wouldn't stand up

and go through with him

the poem comprises 13 stanzas each of

which is a couplet

and these make up five sentences of

varying lengths

most couplets are end stopped with a

comma or a full stop

which forces the reader to pause

slightly between stanzas

and evokes the way in which laura is

compelled to take her time of

each step to gain her husband's trust

before moving on to both greater

physical and emotional

intimacy

in the first sentence the reader follows

the speaker's journey downwards

as she traces the more superficial

physical paths of destruction wrought by

the bullets through her husband's body

in the second sentence she is finally

able to travel upwards

and simultaneously more deeply

suggesting that she has made enough

progress to begin to help him rebuild

emotionally

armitage employs enjambment in both

stanzas 11 and 12

which allows the reader to move more

quickly suggesting laura's anticipation

and apprehension as she gets closer to

understanding the source of her

husband's psychological pain

which has changed him from the person

she knew before

there's no formal rhyme scheme although

armitage does employ perfect

single or masculine rhyme in the first

three stanzas to create rhyming couplets

perhaps to suggest that the first bit is

the easy bit

and at the end of the third sentence in

the tenth stanza

perhaps to suggest the end of the

bullet's destructive path

armitage exploits other sound patterning

techniques in the remaining stanzas

such as alliteration consonants

assonance pararime

oblique rhyme and anto necklaces

to give the poem a sense of cohesion and

continuity

while perhaps simultaneously

communicating the increasing complexity

and sensitivity as the speaker delves

deeper

into her husband's psyche the tone of

the poem is quiet and gentle

reflecting the care and tenderness with

which the speaker explores and

tends first to his physical and then his

psychological scars

the poem has no formal metrical

structure but it is given a lyrical

rhythmical quality by armitage's

extensive use of polycindaton

and anaphora with the repetition of the

anapistic

only then did he dumb

which highlights the painstaking nature

of the speaker's attention

as she only gradually moves on to the

next phase when her husband allows her

to

armitage uses words which form a martial

semantic field

such as phase parachute silk

bullet and mine which suggests the

continuing influence of war

over his rehabilitation and post army

life

the title the manhunt has negative

connotations of fugitive criminals

and the active and aggressive organized

search by law enforcement or the

military to capture them and bring them

to justice

eddie is not however physically missing

but emotionally unreachable

struggling to come to terms with

permanent disfigurement and tortured by

the experiences and memories locked

inside him

as we read the poem we realize that

although the speaker's hunt is indeed

active and methodical

it is anything but aggressive as she

gently and assiduously searches for the

man

used here metaphorically to mean his

sense of self

that he is now

the poem starts after the first

phase after passionate nights and

intimate days

the word phase is a military term used

to describe how longer operations are

subdivided into shorter periods

which each have an intermediary tactical

objective

each phase is part of a serial chain of

logically connected activities

which have a definite end goal

the choice of this word immediately

indicates that the couple are on a

journey

which will go through carefully executed

stages

and which will not progress until each

phase is successful

the first phase is sexual contact it is

only when the couple have been sexually

intimate

that her husband will allow laura to

move on to the next phase

which is to be physically intimate as

only then would he let me trace

the frozen river which ran through his

face

this would on first consideration seem

contradictory

after all what is sexual intimacy if it

is not physically intimate

the way in which she is prepared for

sexual contact before allowing her to

touch his scars however

suggests that there are levels of

physical intimacy which go deeper than

sex

his physical scars bear witness to the

trauma he has suffered

and are a direct link to a level of

emotional intimacy that he is just not

ready for yet

note the poem's first instance of the

phrase only then

and the use of the conditional mood here

would let

which both suggest her ability to

proceed further

only when certain conditions have been

met

she is an active participant but only to

the extent to which he

allows her note the way that armitage

then goes on to use a series of

metaphors to describe eddie's injuries

the frozen river which ran through his

face with its illusions of whiteness and

immobility

vividly evokes the long thin ridge of

scar tissue

where the bullet first struck him before

traveling through his cheek

which the speaker gently traces with her

fingertips

the beauty of the natural imagery in

this metaphor suggests her total and

loving acceptance of his changed

appearance

the poem continues only then would he

let me explore the blown hinge of his

lower jaw

not only does this image refer to his

physical injuries

but also perhaps to his inability to

open up and speak about his feelings

the next three stanzas complete the

first sentence

and handle and hold the damaged

porcelain collarbone

and mined and attend the fractured

rudder of shoulder blade

and finger and thumb the parachute silk

of his punctured lung

each couplet begins with an anaphoric

and polysynthetic

and further picked up by the ands

connecting the pairs of verbs in the

first line of each couplet

note how each verb conveys a sense of

gentleness and care

which armitage enhances through his

choices sounds

the aspirated a breathy sound in hinge

is picked up in the alliterative handle

and hold

the oblique internal rhyme of mind and

attend

and further consonants of the heavy d

sound in handle

hold damaged fractured rudder

and shoulder blade means that the reader

is compelled to articulate these lines

slowly and with care

the metaphor porcelain used to describe

her husband's collarbone

evokes not only its whiteness but its

delicacy and fragility

a rudder is a flat piece which is

attached to the stern of a boat

to enable it to be steered

armitage's use of the metaphor fractured

rudder

to describe his shoulder blade perhaps

suggests that he feels directionless and

no longer in control of his own life

armitage captures not only the fragility

and delicacy of his punctured lung

through the metaphor parachute silk

which can be held between a finger and

thumb

but also the life-threatening nature of

his injuries

if a parachute is punctured it is no

longer able to hold air

and so plummets to earth

these stanzas while not employing single

or masculine rhyme as in the first three

stanzas

make use of assonance with the long o

sounds in hold and

bone and short uh sounds in

thumb and lung as well as consonants

with the d sounds at the end of a tend

and blade

to maintain the poem's lyrical quality

the second sentence is notably shorter

at just two stanzas this time

only then could i bind the struts and

climb the rungs of his broken ribs and

feel the hurt of his grazed heart

there's a sense that we've moved on to

the next phase of laura's own

military-style operation now

note that she has taken on more autonomy

before she could only act when he would

let her

but now she becomes more confident and

proactive

indicated by the modal auxiliary verb

could

which is the past tense of can as she is

able to help

him to heal by metaphorically binding or

bandaging

the struts of his broken ribs

a strut is a rod or bar which is a

supporting part of a framework

and armatures is creating the image of a

ladder up which

is able to move as she climbs the rungs

of his broken ribs

here the sound patterning is slightly

more complex

employing assonance in the long i sounds

of

bind and climb and in the short uh

sounds of struts and rungs the

alliteration of

bind and broken and rungs and ribs

as well as the almost perfect rhyme of

lung and rungs

across the stanza break to create a

sense of cohesion

her developing empathy is clear as she

is able to now feel the hurt of his

graced heart

here the image is clearly to do with the

injury he sustained

but it also works on a metaphorical

level

suggesting the emotional pain that he is

suffering

note the para rhyme of hurt and heart

she's getting closer to him all the time

although she is not quite there yet

the third sentence is also two stanzas

long

skirting along only then could i picture

the scan

the fetus of metal beneath his chest

where the bullet had come to rest

the phrasal verb skirting along suggests

that she is tentative and hesitant

she stays at the edges unwilling to jump

straight in

the metaphor fetus of metal to describe

the bullet's final resting place is

sinister

armitage himself explains that he wanted

to capture the moment of shock as the

bullet is located

the word fetus denotes an unborn baby

and usually has positive connotations of

new life

but the juxtaposition of a word which

describes a living being comprising

human flesh

with the uncompromising coldness of

metal

suggests this bullet has the potential

to cause further harm and damage later

on

once more armitage employs single or

masculine rhyme here

the finality and completeness of which

perhaps reflecting

the way in which the bullet's

destructive journey has finally come to

an end

the fourth sentence extends over the

next five lines

then i widened the search trace the

scarring back to its source to a

sweating unexploded mine buried deep in

his mind

around which every nerve in his body had

tightened and

closed note how the sentence begins then

rather than only then the lack of the

adverb

only implying her complete autonomy

and suggesting that she has gained her

husband's total trust

once more the verb traced is used but

this time it has changed in meaning

a form of repetition known as

antonequasis

in a second stanza it was used to evoke

the way in which the speaker physically

traced

with her fingertips the superficial

scarring of his face

now she is tracing or finding through

investigation the source or deep-rooted

cause of his scarring here meant

metaphorically to mean emotional

suffering

and is an indication of just how far the

pair have come on their journey

armitage now employs enjambment across

stanza breaks to give the poem momentum

as the speaker gets ever closer to her

quarry

the source of his pain appears to be a

sweating unexploded mind buried deep in

his mind

a mine is a type of bomb that is placed

on or just below the surface of the

ground

which detonates on contact with a person

or a vehicle

the adjective sweating is probably an

allusion to the night sweats and terrors

which are a symptom of ptsd

but the word also has connotations of

something that is festering beneath the

surface

this in conjunction with the adjective

unexploded

suggests that it still has the potential

to cause further destruction

and injury there's an implication that

if she does not metaphorically tread

carefully

she runs the risk of unwittingly

detonating the mine

which could bring about a violent

outburst of rage

or breakdown as a self-defense mechanism

every nerve in his body has tightened

and closed

around these memories in an attempt to

keep them locked away

the almost but not quite identical

sounds of mind and mind

here are another indication of just how

close laura is in her quest

and armitage's own words to defuse him

as one would a bomb

the final sentence is one line long it

is short and to the point

then and only then did i come close

even after a long and painstaking

journey of discovery through the

building of intimacy and trust

she still has yet to find him totally

note in another example of antoniquezis

the repetition of closed and close

here which has an almost identical rhyme

with a harsher sound in the former and

the softest

sound in the latter there's a suggestion

that unless we have had these

experiences at first

hand our empathy can only ever be

incomplete

and this is echoed in the almost but not

quite rhyming of this final couplet

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