The Camera Captures You as You Fall: An Analysis of Carol Ann Duffy's Poem on The Falling Soldier

In her poem “The Falling Soldier” Carol Ann Duffy explores Robert Capa’s famous photograph of the same name. The discussion regarding the supposed staged nature of the photo serves a pivotal role in her ekphrastic poem. She departs from the standard ekphrastic three-way conversation between work, speaker and audience and includes this public discussion, and explores the nature of photography itself. Her stance that the photograph’s message does not suffer even if the picture were fake leads to the conclusion that the relationship between photography and reality is far less important than some claim it is.