remains Flashcards
“on another occasion”
the poem starts mid action. “another” suggests that something has clearly happened before. simon armitage deliberatly starts the poem mid action with the suggestion that something clearly gone before it to help us understand the lack of ease the soilder woud have felt joining the warzone. everything is chaotic reflected in this chaotic opening.
“three of a kind all letting fly, and i swear i see every round as it rips through his life”
armitage use enjambment to show the life changing moment the soilder shot the looter. stanza break between the action causes the reader to stop and emphasise how this precise moment as the soilder shot the looter is the big movement in his life, from this point on he became a different man. The force break on line and stanza reflects the broken man the soilder became. repition of “three” performs the same function as the repition of “somebody else”. it allows the reader to feel hes not sowely to blame.
“well myself and somebody else and somebody else”
repition of “somebody else” is used to deflect the blame from the soilder alone.he wants to make it clear that others were involved and repeats the phrase “somebody else” to minamise his own role. this is because he feels guilty from the start.
“legs it up the road”/ “sort of inside out”
use of colloquial language showing that this is an everyday occasion. use of vague language “sort of” reflects the indescriable horrors of war. it suggest despite having army training the narrator is not prepared for the harsh reality of killing someone.
“possibly armed possible not”
repition gives the poem a cyclical structure. it was said in both the beginning and end. suggests the trauma the soilder experienced is inexcapable.
“tosses his guts back into his body”/ “back of the lorry “
dehumanises the man. The use of verb “tosses” shows the complete disrespect for the man as if hes rubbish. also “back of a lorry” makes the reader think of a bin man. there disregarding his life.
“his bloody life in my bloody hand”
the use of the pronoun “my” marks a shift.The poem ends in the acknowledgment that the narrator is taking responsibility. it might have been a joint decision but the reality is that at home again on leave he deals with the consequence alone. it also refers to macbeth just like macbeth and lady macbeth who are unable to cleanse themselves from there sin.
written in presence test
perhaps reflecting the notation that the soilder is constantly reliving the experience, he cant move on from it.
