😣 remains Flashcards
Who is the poet of Remains?
Simon Armitage
Summary of Remains
Soldiers were sent out to handle bank looters. Man runs away and is shot by three soldiers. Violent death and the looter is suffering and dying in pain, then his body is taken away but not respected. The soldier keeps seeing his blood and is haunted by guilt. Guilt comes home with him and when he is on leave, he keeps reliving the moment. He is suffering at home - drink, drugs, can’t sleep. Can’t forget the looter or his guilt. PTSD
5 key quotes in Remains
1) ‘probably armed, possibly not’
- Emphasises the possibility but reassures himself
- Mentions the looter he killed, which suggests that there is a slight chance he could’ve been innocent and not a threat. ‘probably’ comes first because this is what he wants to believe as it provides justification. There is a clear anaphora of this phrase later in the poem, to show how he is focused on the possibility of the killing being unjustified, and he feels guilty about it and regrets killing the looter
2) ‘tosses his guts back into his body / Then he’s carted off in the back of a lorry’
- ‘tosses’ connotates a lack of care or respect. Not respecting the body as it treated as an object. Also suggests that it is an action they are used to - don’t think anything of it - natural reaction. Body has no value and conflcit causes this devaluation of human life and loss of sanctity.
- Rhyme of ‘body’ and ‘lorry’, which works to add fluidity suggests this is a routine and they are used to it. Because they have been exposed to so much death and violence they are now desensitsed to it. Lost their respect for life
3) ‘But I blink / and he bursts’
- Connotations of waking up. The flashbacks are becoming impossible to distinguish between what is being awake and what is a dream / flashback. Having to blink to try to make out the difference. Merging of reality and memory - as reflected by blending and merging of lines.
4) ‘he’s here in my head when I close my eyes’
- The warzone is no longer real but in his head. Internal conflict due to guilt. Battle between the killing was justified or not. Looter is stuck in his mind - his memory continue to haunt him. In the mind - mental illness - PTSD. Soldiers are desensitized by war
5) ‘but near to the knuckle, here and now,’
- IDIOM meaning ‘risky or verging on offensive’ - likely to cause offense. the memory feels offensive - still causing him pain. Has a big impact on him. Should be in the past and forgotten but PTSD causes him to relive the past as if it is happening again - flashbacks. It should be forgotten but it is brought home and kept in the present.
Context for Remains
POET LAUREATE
WRITTEN ‘THE NOT DEAD’ 2007
- Documentary about the impact of war on soldiers returning home to raise awareness of PTSD
Form and structure of Remains
DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE
- Gives a sense of being an account from memory in a flashback. Flashbacks are a symptom of PTSD
OPENS IN MEDIAS RES
- Mid-action
- Serves to confuse the reader as they initially don’t know what’s going on, which mirrors the confusion of the soldiers who are not emotionally prepared for what will come next once leaving war zone
ENJAMBMENT
- Causes tension and builds up to violent imagery
CAESURA
- Provides finality. Going home should be the end of his memory of the event and the extent of its impact on him, because the war zone shouldnt be able to impact him once he leaves. But the start of the second sentence with ‘but’ shows how war continues to impact him even when he should be able to escape it
Key themes in Remains
- Lasting effects of conflict (PTSD)
- Raise awareness for PTSD by presenting the impact on a soldier outside of war
- Conflict is brought home with them but internally and psychologically
- Guilt
Poem to compare with Remains
WAR PHOTOGRAPHER
- S: Grotesque imagery/horrific
Lingering effects of war. The chaos of war, Fragility of life, Suffering, Lingering effects of war, Individual experiences, Reality of war
- D: WP is the indifference of people towards the horrors of war; how people become desensitized to war, Remains is PTSD
POPPIES
- S: Psychological consequences of conflict are due to guilt and loss. Memory extends the impact of conflict. Both show how the effects of war are damaging and painful
- D: Remains is PTSD and Poppies is the memory of mother and son
BAYONET CHARGE
- S: Present the psychological impact of war upon a soldier. Soldiers are scared which acts as a criticism of war. Both not written first hand
- D: Bayo is effect whilst the solider is still on the field, Remains is the impact after war
