Simon Armitage wrote "The Manhunt" for a 2007 documentary about military service-people who have returned to civilian life, and the lingering, often lifelong effects of sustained exposure to violence. The poem is narrated by one of the documentary’s participants, Laura Beddoes. Beddoes’s husband, Eddie, was injured in combat and was discharged due to poor mental health, primarily severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The poem, initially titled "Laura's Poem," explores the lasting impact of such trauma on those who have experienced it and on the people closest to them.

• Read the full text of “The Manhunt”

• “The Manhunt” Summary

• “The Manhunt” Themes

  • 

    The Lasting Trauma of War

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-5
    • Line 6
    • Lines 7-8
    • Lines 9-10
    • Lines 11-12
    • Lines 13-14
    • Lines 15-20
    • Line 22
    • Line 23
    • Lines 23-25
  • 

    Trauma and Relationships

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-10
    • Lines 11-12
    • Lines 13-26

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Manhunt”

  • Lines 1-2

    After the first ...
    ... and intimate days,

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 3

    only then would ... let me trace

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 4

    the frozen river ... through his face,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-6

    only then would ...
    ... his lower jaw

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 7

    and handle and hold

    

    

    

    

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  • Line 8

    the damaged, porcelain collar bone,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-10

    and mind and ...
    ... rudder of shoulder-blade,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-12

    and finger and ...
    ... his punctured lung.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 13-14

    Only then could ...
    ... his broken ribs,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 15-18

    and feel the ...
    ... picture the scan,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 19-20

    the foetus of ...
    ... come to rest.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 21-22

    Then I widened ...
    ... to its source

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 23-24

    to a sweating, ...
    ... in his mind,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 24-26

    around which ...
    ... I come close.

    

    

    

    

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• “The Manhunt” Symbols

  • 

    Broken Parts

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 6: “blown hinge”
    • Line 8: “damaged, porcelain collar bone”
    • Line 10: “fractured rudder”
    • Line 13: “bind the struts”
    • Line 14: “climb the rungs”
  • 

    Physical Exploration

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “trace / the frozen river”
    • Line 5: “explore”
    • Line 14: “climb the rungs”
    • Line 17: “Skirting along”
    • Line 21: “widened the search”
    • Line 22: “traced,” “back to its source”
    • Line 24: “buried deep”

• “The Manhunt” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Anaphora

    

    

    

    

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    Where anaphora appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “only then would he let me”
    • Line 5: “only then would he let me”
    • Line 13: “Only then could I”
    • Line 18: “only then could I”
    • Line 26: “only then, did I”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “After,” “first phase”
    • Line 2: “after,” “passionate nights,” “intimate”
    • Line 4: “frozen river,” “ran through”
    • Line 6: “blown,” “hinge,” “lower jaw”
    • Line 7: “and handle and hold”
    • Line 8: “damaged,” “porcelain collar”
    • Line 9: “and mind and attend”
    • Line 10: “fractured rudder,” “shoulder-blade”
    • Line 12: “parachute,” “silk,” “punctured”
    • Line 13: “could,” “bind,” “struts”
    • Line 14: “climb,” “rungs,” “broken,” “ribs”
    • Line 15: “hurt”
    • Line 16: “his,” “grazed,” “heart”
    • Line 17: “Skirting”
    • Line 18: “could,” “picture,” “scan”
    • Line 19: “foetus,” “metal,” “beneath,” “chest”
    • Line 20: “bullet,” “rest”
    • Line 21: “search”
    • Line 22: “traced,” “scarring,” “source”
    • Line 23: “sweating,” “unexploded,” “mine”
    • Line 24: “buried deep,” “mind”
    • Line 25: “closed”
    • Line 26: “come close”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “trace / the”
    • Lines 5-6: “explore / the”
    • Lines 6-7: “jaw / and”
    • Lines 7-8: “hold / the”
    • Lines 9-10: “attend / the”
    • Lines 11-12: “thumb / the”
    • Lines 13-14: “struts / and”
    • Lines 15-16: “hurt / of”
    • Lines 19-20: “chest / where”
    • Lines 22-23: “source / to”
    • Lines 23-24: “mine / buried”
    • Lines 24-25: “which / every”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “the frozen river which ran through his face”
    • Line 6: “the blown hinge of his lower jaw”
    • Line 8: “the damaged, porcelain collar bone”
    • Line 10: “the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade”
    • Line 12: “the parachute silk of his punctured lung”
    • Lines 13-14: “Only then could I bind the struts / and climb the rungs of his broken ribs”

  • Parallelism

    

    

    

    

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    Where parallelism appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-8: “and handle and hold / the damaged, porcelain collar bone,”
    • Lines 9-10: “and mind and attend / the fractured rudder of shoulder-blade,”
    • Lines 11-12: “and finger and thumb / the parachute silk of his punctured lung.”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 8: “damaged, porcelain”
    • Line 24: “mind, around”
    • Line 26: “Then, and,” “then, did”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “phase”
    • Line 2: “days”
    • Line 3: “then,” “let,” “trace”
    • Line 4: “frozen,” “face”
    • Line 5: “then,” “let,” “explore”
    • Line 6: “blown,” “lower”
    • Line 7: “and handle and,” “hold”
    • Line 8: “damaged,” “bone”
    • Line 10: “fractured rudder,” “shoulder”
    • Line 11: “finger,” “thumb”
    • Line 12: “silk,” “punctured lung”
    • Line 13: “I bind,” “struts”
    • Line 14: “climb,” “rungs”
    • Line 19: “foetus,” “metal,” “beneath,” “chest”
    • Line 20: “bullet,” “rest”
    • Line 21: “I widened”
    • Line 23: “mine”
    • Line 24: “mind”
    • Line 25: “closed”
    • Line 26: “close”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “After,” “first phase”
    • Line 2: “passionate nights and intimate”
    • Line 4: “frozen,” “river,” “ran through,” “face”
    • Line 5: “would”
    • Line 6: “blown,” “hinge,” “lower,” “jaw”
    • Line 7: “handle,” “hold”
    • Line 8: “porcelain collar”
    • Line 9: “and mind and attend”
    • Line 10: “fractured rudder,” “shoulder,” “blade”
    • Line 12: “parachute,” “silk,” “punctured”
    • Line 13: “could,” “bind”
    • Line 14: “climb,” “rungs,” “broken,” “ribs”
    • Line 15: “hurt”
    • Line 16: “his,” “heart”
    • Line 17: “Skirting”
    • Line 18: “could,” “picture,” “scan”
    • Line 19: “beneath,” “chest”
    • Line 20: “bullet,” “rest”
    • Line 21: “search”
    • Line 22: “traced,” “scarring,” “back,” “source”
    • Line 23: “sweating,” “unexploded,” “mine”
    • Line 24: “mind”
    • Line 25: “closed”
    • Line 26: “come,” “close”

• “The Manhunt” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Trace
  • Mind
  • Rudder
  • Struts
  • Skirting
  • (Location in poem: Line 3: “trace”; Line 22: “traced”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Manhunt”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “The Manhunt” Speaker

• “The Manhunt” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “The Manhunt”

• More “The Manhunt” Resources

  • External Resources

    • "The Not Dead" — Watch Simon Armitage's documentary from 2007. 

    • Laura Beddoes Recites "The Manhunt" — Laura Beddoes reads the poem in footage from "The Not Dead" documentary. 

    • Article on "The Not Dead" — More information about Armitage's documentary.

    • PTSD in Veterans — An article about the prevalence and treatment of PTSD in military veterans.

    • The Bosnian War — More information about the war in which Eddie Beddoes served as a peace-keeper. 

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Simon Armitage

    • Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass

    • Hitcher

    • Mother, any distance

    • Out of the Blue (Excerpt)

    • Remains

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