Remains

Question 1

Remains context (Simon Armitage)

Answer 1

• From the collection “The Not Dead” based on interviews with Former British soldiers who served in the Gulf War and Bosnia etc
• The voice/speaker - is the soldier - based on Guardsman Tromans - reflecting on an accident back in the UK
• Soliders shoot a looter for leaving a bank - feel the weight of taking a life. Impact his mental health for a long time - turns to drink/drugs - like many soliders

Question 2

Remains MUST mention

Answer 2

• The poem explores the events in a soldiers life which in turn trigger PTSD, it is worth noting the memory hurts him more than the event itself
• The colloquial nature of the speakers voice is used to create a sense of heightened realism to the piece
• The poet suggests a conflict in the speakers mind, an avoidance of the reality of what happened which haunts him

Question 3

Remains Structure

Answer 3

• The poem is written in 8 stanzas, the last of which is a couplet which leaves the poem on a dramatic end note.
• It does not rhyme and the poem is a monologue, using very conversational asides and syntax to structure the sentences into a very conversational tone “end of story, not really”.
• There is also a lot of enjambment and caesura used to emphasises the natural speech patterns of the speaker.
• Another key factor in this poem is the use of colloquialism (slang) and personal pronouns to give it a sense of realism, “One of my mates,”.
• There is a loose set of rhymes in the poem, often internal and used to give an almost childish aspect to the horror of the warzone. It perhaps suggests how numb this soldier is to what is happening.