Remains

Question 1

Remains quotes

Answer 1

“Probably armed, possibly not” - speaker’s inner conflict abt whether the looter was armed or not. “Probably” - shows he’s looking for justification for killing. “Possibly not” - chance that the looter was innocent. Anaphora of this phrase later in the poem shows guilt, clearly being a thought that lingers in his mind.
“Sort of inside out” - grotesque, colloquial language shows men have been desensitised by war (the fact that hes able to say this in a casual manner)
“Tosses his guts back into his body” - lack of care/respect. Treating man like an object (clearly used to doing this)
“His bloody life in my bloody hands” - describing gruesome nature of the death OR colloquial curse word (ALSO could be expressing how this event ruined his life like a curse)

Question 2

Form of Remains

Answer 2

Poem opens in media res - portrays confusion of the solider, mirrors how they were not emotinally/physically prepared for war

No regular rhyme scheme or line length: emphasises the conversational tone of the soldier sharing his experience. Soldier may possibly just wants someone to talk to OR showing they are all over the place (PTSD)

Pronouns in the beginning of poem: “we”. By the end of poem: “his” -> gradual realisation that only he was to blame

Poem layout: Starts off with an amusing anecdote then a graphic description then a volta into a guilty consious by the end

Regular stanza lengths mirroring army formation. But the last stanza is different (only 2 lines long) - expresses how the looter’s life was cut short OR how the writer (soldier) is breaking down

Pararhyming for amusement to reassure himself that he was not at fault

Question 3

Structure of Remains

Answer 3

Enjambment: creates tension, shows that it’s difficult to get the words out OR his frantic thinking

Caesura: “Then im home on leave. But i blink” - going home should be the end of war, but the memories still haunt him

Poem is in quatrains except the last line - showing how he cut someone’s life short

Question 4

Context of Remains

Answer 4

The soldier was involved in the Iraq war and came back with extreme PTSD