Poetry - Remains by Simon Armitage

Question 1

Give context for ‘Remains’

Answer 1

• Armitage released a poetry collection called “The Not Dead” (which was a documentary about the impact of war on soldiers returning home)
• The collection was based on Guardsman Tromans who fought in Iraq in 2003 and suffered from PTSD as a result.
• More modern conflicts the public and military started to recognise PTSD, and Armitage’s poem helped to raise awareness and incite sympathy

Question 2

Finish the quote: ‘I swear I see…’

Answer 2

• “I swear I see every round as it rips through his life”
• Violent language: The verb “rip” highlights the brutal nature of the attack
• Sensory language: “I see” conveys a sense of the trauma it has caused the soldier, as though it is branded on his memory
• Present tense: This link in with the idea that this suffering in ongoing and he constantly re-plays the memories

Question 3

Finish the quote: ‘His bloody life..’ and describe it

Answer 3

• “His bloody life in my bloody hands”
• Repetition: Reinforces the sense of his frustration
• Bloody imagery: The image of having blood on his hands symbolises the guilt he is unable to rid himself of
• “Bloody” could also be interrupted as a swear word and mark his anger or regret

Question 4

Finish the quote: ‘Probably armed,…’ and describe it

Answer 4

• “Probably armed, possibly not”
• Uncertain language
• Reminds readers of the doubt that soldiers must deal with
• It links to the theme of guilt as there is an indication that the man who was killed was innocent

Question 5

Finish the quote: ‘And the drink and the drugs…’ and describe it

Answer 5

• “And the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out”
• An indication of the speaker’s desperation to ride himself of the harrowing memories
• The verb “flush” is indicative of something that needs to be cleansed or disposed of, linking to the unpleasantness of his memories

Question 6

Finish the quote: ‘Sort of inside out…’ and describe it

Answer 6

• “Sort of inside out… tosses his guts back into his body”
• Gruesome imagery
• Indicates the reality of war and the lack of glory or honour associated with such a job

Question 7

Finish the quote: ‘His blood-shadow…’

Answer 7

• “His blood-shadow stays in the street, and out on patrol”
• Metaphor
• Indicates something dark that cannot be dispelled, a constant reminder of what he did

Question 8

Finish the quote: ‘Well myself and…’ and describe it

Answer 8

• “Well myself and somebody else and somebody else”
• Colloquial language
• Shows that experiences, such as the one described, were common
• The soldiers are almost desensitised to the horrors of conflict when they are immersed in it

Question 9

Describe how the blame shifts throughout ‘Remains’

Answer 9

• At the start, the speaker tries to excuse what he did and share the blame with other (e.g. “myself and somebody else and somebody else”, “all three of us” and “three of a kind”)
• The feeling shifts towards the end, as he feels entirely responsible. This emphasises the guilt he feels and demonstrates how PTSD can warp how a person views past events

Question 10

Describe the rhythm and rhyme of ‘Remains’

Answer 10

• The rhythm breaks in the last two lines of four-line stanzas , representing his mental disintegration
• The poem is made up of unrhymed quatrains (stanzas of four lines), the lack of rhyme give the monologue a more natural, speech- like feel but could indicate the speaker unstable state of mind
• The regular pattern of stanzas could reflect the ongoing, relentless suffering of the soldier