The Manhunt (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Theme

Evidence

Poet's intention

Love and desire

The poem consists of couplets that form 13 short stanzas:

• The structure symbolically reflects the ladder, the  “rungs” the speaker must “climb” to renewed intimacy 

• It also conveys the close bond between the pair

Armitage reflects the slow progression of the speaker exploring their lover’s injured body

Each couplet rhymes:

• The regular and repetitive rhythm creates harmony 

This reinforces the speaker’s tender actions and is suggestive of the deep love in the relationship

Enjambment is used across some stanzas to increase pace:

• This reflects the speaker’s emotions  

Armitage exposes the desperation in the speaker’s voice as they try to maintain control despite their urgent need to reconnect

Armitage conveys the tenderness of a caring lover trying to rediscover a close bond that has been damaged

Theme

Evidence

Poet's intention

Love and desire 

The poem consists of couplets that form 13 short stanzas:

• The structure symbolically reflects the ladder, the  “rungs” the speaker must “climb” to renewed intimacy 

• It also conveys the close bond between the pair

Armitage reflects the slow progression of the speaker exploring their lover’s injured body

Each couplet rhymes:

• The regular and repetitive rhythm creates harmony 

This reinforces the speaker’s tender actions and is suggestive of the deep love in the relationship

Enjambment is used across some stanzas to increase pace:

• This reflects the speaker’s emotions  

Armitage exposes the desperation in the speaker’s voice as they try to maintain control despite their urgent need to reconnect

Armitage conveys the tenderness of a caring lover trying to rediscover a close bond that has been damaged

Theme

Evidence

Poet's intention

Romantic relationships

A metaphor compares the man’s repressed pain with a “frozen river”

Armitage conveys the barriers in the relationship:

• The speaker implies the man is numb, difficult to “break through” to

Alliteration across lines describe the man’s injuries: 

• For example, “porcelain”, “parachute silk” and “punctured”

The sensory imagery alludes to fragility and creates a sentimental tone

Present tense verbs highlight the sensual nature of the shared moments

Physical imagery with verbs like  “trace”, “finger and thumb” and “handle” show the tenderness of the speaker

Armitage juxtaposes physical language with emotive language to show links between injury and trauma: 

• His heart is “grazed”

• The speaker can “feel the hurt”

• The man’s mind is an “unexploded bomb”, implying repressed trauma

By the end of the poem, Armitage describes the man’s emotional “scarring” to highlight the speaker’s conclusion that trauma is the “source” of his pain 

Armitage presents a romantic relationship in which both parties are impacted by the emotional trauma of war rather than its physical damage

Topic sentence

Both poems describe intimate moments in a loving relationship 

Evidence and analysis

'The Manhunt'

'Nettles'

'The Manhunt' describes a partner caring for an injured loved one

'Nettles', too, describes a tender moment when a parent cares for their son’s injury

Armitage uses imagery to describe the speaker offering care: 

• They “handle and hold/the damaged, porcelain collar-bone”

• Armitage stresses the brittle frailty of the man

Scannell, similarly, uses imagery to bring to life the intimate moment when the “boy came seeking comfort”:

• The speaker says “I saw/White blisters beaded on his tender skin”

• Here, Scannell emphasises the boy’s innocent fragility 

Armitage uses a semantic field of time to highlight the gradual process of healing:

• “After” and “Only then” work alongside repetitive couplets to reflect a slow pace

Scannell implies the need for patience in a loving relationship too: 

• The speaker says, “We soothed him till his pain was not so raw” and “At last he offered us a watery grin”

The poets both present loving relationships that find intimacy through tender care-giving and close attention

Topic sentence

Both poets present painful emotions that come from a sense of powerlessness in loving relationships

Evidence and analysis

'The Manhunt'

'Nettles'

Armitage alludes to the damaging effects of war on a relationship:

• The soldier is an “unexploded mine” implying he represses his feelings 

Scannell also uses metaphorical imagery related to the military to highlight the impact of external forces on a relationship: 

• The speaker describes a “regiment of spite” and “tall recruits” when referring to nettles

'The Manhunt' presents a speaker who feels powerless in the relationship: 

• The poem ends “Then, and only then, did i come close”

Similarly, 'Nettles' conveys a sense of frustration: “My son would often feel sharp wounds again”

Armitage draws attention to connections between the physical and the emotional:

• He juxtaposes verbs like “mind and attend” against emotive language like “feel the hurt” 

The speaker in Scannell’s poem takes action: 

• They “honed the blade” and “lit/A funeral pyre”

• Scannell emphasises the strong emotions behind the actions: “slashed in fury”

Both poets conjure vivid allusions to present the strength of love

Topic sentence

While Armitage’s poem is an optimistic presentation of the power of tender care, Scannell shows a parent’s limitations and lack of control

Evidence and analysis

'The Manhunt'

'Nettles'

Armitage’s poem is a sensual description of two lovers:

• The speaker’s tender touch is described throughout the poem

• Rhyming couplets create a gentle mood, such as in the lines “trace/the frozen river which ran through his face”

In contrast, Scannell portrays a tense speaker: 

• The poem is one compressed stanza, suggesting tight control

• The speaker is matter-of-fact

• Caesura creates an abrupt tone: “It was no place for rest./With sobs and tears”

Armitage uses imagery and alliteration to create a gentle mood: “the parachute silk of his punctured lung”

Scannell describes the furious actions of the speaker using dark imagery: 

• The speaker builds a “funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead”

Armitage’s poem is a sentimental presentation of hope in a romantic relationship:

• The speaker finds an answer to their “search” (their “Manhunt”) by the end

However, Scannell’s poem suggests hopelessness and inevitable lack of control:

• The speaker feels powerless against nature, implied in “the busy sun and rain/Had called up tall recruits”

While both poems draw attention to hostile forces in the world, Armitage portrays the power of patient love, while Scannell’s poem presents a speaker who feels defeated 

Topic sentence

Both poems portray distance in loving relationships 

Evidence and analysis

'The Manhunt'

'Neutral Tones'

Armitage describes the emotional distance between two people despite physical presence:

• Although the speaker is touching their lover, their partner’s face is a “frozen river”

• This metaphor implies barriers between them

Similarly, Hardy describes two lovers together at a lake, but unable to find intimacy: 

• The metaphor “The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing” suggests their distance

Armitage conveys the speaker’s sadness at the lack of intimacy in the relationship:

• He uses anaphora: “Only then would he let me”

In Hardy’s poem, too, the speaker describes sad imbalances:

• The lover’s eyes “rove/Over tedious riddles of years ago”

• The half-rhyme conveys lack of harmony 

Armitage uses metaphor to allude to the struggle to connect:

• The speaker must “climb” the “rungs of his broken ribs”

Hardy employs a simile and ellipsis to suggest love eludes the speaker: “Like an ominous bird a-wing…”:

• This suggest their love flying away

The poems both portray the sense of isolation that comes from a lack of intimacy in a loving relationship 

Topic sentence

Both poems explore feelings of powerlessness in romantic relationships

Evidence and analysis

‘The Manhunt’

'Neutral Tones'

Armitage illustrates the way trauma has an impact on a close relationship with a third-person description to suggest distance between them

Hardy’s poem similarly portrays frustration in the relationship: 

• The poem is first-person but the speaker addresses a silent listener: “Your eyes rove”

Armitage emphasises the man’s injuries with imagery:

• Words like “damaged”, “blown” and “fractured” create a semantic field of destruction

Hardy, too, describes the scene with imagery related to decay: 

• Natural imagery alludes to death: “a few leaves lay on the starving sod” that had “fallen from an ash, and were gray”

The poem highlights the depth of the man’s trauma “buried deep”, and implies a long road to recovery:

• The speaker describes how “every nerve in his body had tightened and closed.”

Hardy’s poem refers to a “God-curst sun”, implying a sense of failure or weakness as they are cursed

The poets present speakers who are frustrated in their relationships because they are unable to resolve their problems

Topic sentence

While Armitage’s poem elevates the idea of sensual and romantic love, Hardy’s poem is bitter and cynical 

Evidence and analysis

‘The Manhunt’

'Neutral Tones'

Armitage uses regular couplets to create a slow pace and reflect harmony:

• Some stanzas rhyme, such as in “chest” and “rest” to describe sensual moments

Hardy’s speaker, however, is resentful:

• Four regular quatrains that rhyme in an abba pattern create an ironic voice

• Disrupted lines like “– They had fallen from an ash, and were gray” convey resignation

The poem focuses on the physical closeness of two lovers:

• Present tense verbs describe tender actions

Hardy’s poem describes conflict between the pair in metaphorical images like “a grin of bitterness”

Armitage’s speaker is sentimental and gentle:

• Assonance emphasises emotive lines, such as “and feel the hurt/of his grazed heart.”

In contrast, Hardy’s speaker is nonchalant and casual:

• Lines like “some words played between us to and fro” imply hidden emotions

Armitage’s poem is a sentimental description of healing love, whereas Hardy’s poem is a cynical comment on relationships that are ending

Topic sentence

Both poems portray loving relationships that offer comfort 

Evidence and analysis

‘The Manhunt’ 

‘One Flesh’

Armitage describes intimate moments in a relationship: 

• Repetitive couplets describe the speaker’s gentle touch

• Alliteration creates a poignant tone in “parachute” and “punctured”

The poem describes a couple in bed at night: 

• Sensory imagery creates an intimate mood, such as “How cool they lie” and “Touching them gently”

• Alliteration highlights the “light on late”

Armitage implies patient tenderness in the relationship with a pattern of verbs:

• The speaker would “explore”, and “attend” to the loved one

• This is repeated throughout the poem to suggest steadfast love

Jennings conveys a sense of calm constancy in the steady iambic pentameter and regular rhyme scheme 

Emotive language in the poem links the physical to emotional intimacy: 

• The speaker can “feel the hurt” of their “grazed heart”

In ‘One Flesh’ emotive language conveys the strength of the bond: “Of having little feeling – or too much.”

The poems both describe intimate and long-lasting romantic relationships 

Topic sentence

Both poems offer perspectives on distance in romantic relationships 

Evidence and analysis

'The Manhunt'

‘One Flesh’

Armitage’s speaker suggests a change in the relationship:

• Anaphora stresses the ending of passion: “After the first phase,/after passionate nights”

Similarly, in Jennings’s poem, the relationship has been destabilised:

• A vivid simile and alliteration imply chaos (“Tossed up like  flotsam from a former passion”)

• The couple are “Lying apart now”

Armitage uses metaphorical imagery to convey barriers in the relationship, such as a “frozen river” and a “fractured rudder”

Similarly, Jennings hints at a sense of isolation in the relationship: 

• The third-person descriptions highlight this in lines like “Her eyes fixed on the shadows overhead”

Both poets present the complexities of love with tender reflections on difficulties in relationships 

Topic sentence

While Armitage conveys a relationship attempting to bridge emotional distance, Jennings writes about a love that is fading

Evidence and analysis

'The Manhunt'

‘One Flesh’

Armitage repeats the phrase “only then” to show an urgent need to regain intimacy:

• Indeed, the poem’s title implies a dedicated search

On the other hand, the relationship in Jennings’s poem is described as fragile, like a “thread” or a “feather”

Armitage’s poem presents a steady and determined first-person speaker: “Then I widened the search,/traced the scarring back to its source”

Jennings’s poem, in contrast, is written about the speaker’s parents:

• The speaker says “They hardly ever touch”

Armitage closes his poem on a hopeful note with the speaker’s enthusiastic and emphatic, “Then, and only then, did I come close.”

‘One Flesh’ ends with a rhetorical question and oxymoron: 

• This suggests a lack of resolution for the estranged couple: “Whose fire from which I came, has now grown cold?”

Armitage presents a hopeful poem about regaining lost love, while Jennings offers little hope for the marriage