remains

Question 1

what is the poem about (4)

Answer 1

1 The speaker describes going to deal with a bank raid in the middle eastern war zone
2 one of the looters runs away and the speaker and 2 other s open fire spilling his internal organs on the street
3 the speakers friend puts the guts back inside the body which is taken away
4 The speaker can not get the mans death out of his head it haunts him
5 title reflects physical and psychological leftovers featured in the poem

Question 2

what form does the poem take (3)

Answer 2

1 monologue-strongly colloquial - showing english voice in foreign land to emphasise he should not be there.
2 no regular rhyme or line length sounds like someone is telling a story and it creates a conversational tone
3 sounds like a confession

Question 3

what is the structure (3)

Answer 3

1 8 stanzas final stanza is couplets giving a sense of final drama
2 volta at the start of the fifth stanza indicates the impact of guilt
3 enjambment natural speech pattern are used and suggest the memory is consistent and inescapable

Question 4

what are the key contexts ((3)

Answer 4

1 remains is from 2008 collection of poems which looks at the effects of war on ex soldiers
2 It is based on the account of a British soldier who served in Iraq
3 It was originally a channel 4 documentary

Question 5

what is the poets message (2)

Answer 5

1 the effects of war do not end when the conflict is over
2 people lack power over their own memories and experiences

Question 6

what are the key quotes (3)

Answer 6

1 tosses his guts back in his body - matter of fact language suggests killing was a normal thing for a soldier
2 end of story except not really- the memory is in his mind and wont go away
3 his bloody life in my bloody hands-repetition of bloody makes narrator sound horrified and angry it could concern or intimidate the reader
4 one of my mates goes by - colloquial language - creates a chatty tone making death of looter more trivial - this trivilisation shocks the reader
5 the drink and drugs wont flush him out - the guilt is so overpowering that the soldier tries to numb it with alcohol and drugs

Question 7

which poem compares

Answer 7

exposure

Question 8

How do they compare (3)”

Answer 8

1 both poems present psychological turmoil as a result of conflict
2 in remains the repetition of probably armed possibly not shows the soldiers doubt and hints ongoing psychological conflict. In exposure opening phrase “our brains ache” focuses the poem on psychological pain.
3 form is used to emphasise the psychological effects of conflict in each poem
in exposure a regular rhyme scheme ABBAC and repetition of “but nothing happens”. In remains enjambment reinforce that soldiers have been psychologically damaged by this event - even when he is at home it haunts him

Question 9

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