Remains Flashcards
Who is the author of remains?
Simon Armitage
What is the story based on?
The true story of a machine gunner in the Iraq war.
Presents the true horror of war & effects of conflict on domestic life.
What is a constant theme running through the poem? How is this shown?
Doubt and guilt
Did I do the right thing or did I kill an innocent person?
‘Possibly armed, possibly not’
Describe the development of the soldier throughout the poem?
Beginning:
- casual/nonchalant
- defensive/flippant
- emotionless
—> conversational/colloquial
‘On another occasion, we got sent out’
‘One of them legs it up the road’
Throughout the poem the narrator explores his emotions and opens up, which is painful after being closed off for so long.
End:
- desperate
- rambling/uncontrolled
- emptional outburst
‘His bloody life in my bloody hands’
Pronoun ‘my’ marks a change, his acknowledgment
Like the stages of grief - he is now taking responsibility (acceptance)
Bloody - dual meaning
How does Armatige describe the domestic affects of conflict?
Even though it was a joint decision to shoot the looter, now the soldier has to go home and deal with the consequences alone.
‘And the drink and drugs won’t flush him out’ - turns to abuse of substances
‘Flush’ - cleanse, suggesting the soldiers memories are unclean/sick
‘Dug in behind memory lines’ - war imagery while at home, PTSD
Explain the use of anonymity in stanza 2?
‘Well myself and somebody else and somebody else’
1. You can’t get too attached to people because it causes greater pain when they die.
2. Presents the soldiers guilt.
Deflecting the blame from himself - he wants to make it clear others were involved.
The line is dominated by others- focussing more attention on them.
Which line is parallel to Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulch est Decorum’?
‘Then he’s carted off in the back of a lorry’
The body is chucked like cattle - dehumanises
How does Armitage describe the shooting of the looter? (Stanza 3/4)
‘And i swear
I see every round as it rips through his life’
Enjambement - exaggerates the length of time
This is the very moment that stops one life (looter) and ruins another (narrator)
‘Sort of inside out’
‘My mate’
‘Tosses his guts’
The true experience is impossible to describe. The narrator avoids going into depth by keeping the language casual because the memories are so painful.
Describe the use of cyclical structure?
Goes in a circle, releats itself.
The trauma is inescapable
What 2 key points would you use in an answer?
The development of the narrator:
Beginning to end (change in tone)
Outburst of emotion
Painful memories and acceptance of responsibility
Domestic impact of conflict:
Cyclical structure - inescapable trauma
He has to deal with it alone
In every aspect of his life
The need to cleanse
What quotes would you use for your answer?
Development of narrator:
‘On another occasion we got sent out’
‘One of them legs it up the road’
‘Some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land’
‘His bloody life in my bloody hands’
Domestic impact:
‘End of story, except not really’
‘Sleep, dream’
‘The drink and drugs won’t shut him out’
‘Dug in behind enemy lines’
