Remains

Question 1

‘Probably armed, possibly not’

Answer 1

Narrator doesn’t know if looter was a threat or if shooting him was justified – line is repeated showing soldier keeps going over it in his mind – guilt and worry won’t leave him.

Question 2

‘Tosses his guts back into his body’

Answer 2

Casual verb ‘tosses’ suggests the lack of care and respect for the dead in times of conflict. Death and killing seem insignificant at the time – in contrast to
later in poem.

Question 3

‘He’s here in my head when I close my eyes’

Answer 3

Metaphor suggests that memory of victim can’t be erased. Suggestion that the dead man is haunting the soldier and there is no escape from him.

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

Poem has no discernible rhyme suggesting lack of patterns or predictability – reflects the rushed chaos of conflict.

Question 5

Idea/Perspective/Context (AO3)

Answer 5

Refuses to glorify war – focuses on the trauma that involvement in conflict can cause.

Question 6

Links

Answer 6

War Photographer
Bayonet Charge
Poppies
Kamikaze