Remains Flashcards
What is the mnemonic?
HBHI
“I ___ _______ _____ __ __ _____ ________ ___ ____”
“I see every round as it rips through his life”
“I ___ _______ _____ __ __ _____ ________ ___ ____”, method
“I see every round as it rips through his life”
- the violent metaphor contrasts shockingly with the colloquial style of the first two stanzas
- the repetition of “I see” emphasises the visual horror of the scene
“His ______-_______ ______ __ ___ ______”
“His bloody-shadow stays on the street”
“His ______-_______ ______ __ ___ ______”, method
“His bloody-shadow stays on the street”
- a visual reminder of the death - it foreshadows the memories that are going to haut him
- “bloody” ?
“But _ ______”
“But I blink”
“But _ ______”, method
“But I blink”
- short sentence
- enjambment
- the stanza ending reflects the blinking - the enjambment carries you forwards, and the horror is still there when the next stanza starts
“His ______ ____ __ __ ________ _____”
“His bloody life in my bloody hands”
“His ______ ____ __ __ ________ _____”, method
“His bloody life in my bloody hands”
- “bloody hands” - reference to Macbeth when he with LM feels guilt after committing the regicide
- emphasises that soldier feels anxiety and
- double meaning to “bloody” -he’s talking about the man’s blood, but also swearing in anger
Who wrote the poem?
Simon Armitage
Who is the speaker?
Guardsman Trouman - soldier, tank machine gunner, first time he killed someone (enemy soldier), had PTSD
HBHI
H= “His bloody-shadow stays on the street”
B = “But I blink”
H = “His bloody life in my bloody hands”
I = “I see every round as it rips through his life”
Form
- Rhyme scheme
- first personal plural
Structure
- begins as amusing anecdote turns to graphic description of a man’s death
