Remains - Simon Armitage Flashcards
‘we’ ‘us’ ‘we’ve’
collective pronouns - pain is a shared experience
‘on another occasion’
The poem opens In media res, or mid action, which serves to confuse the reader as they initially don’t know what’s going on. This also mirrors the confusion of the soldier, as they are not emotionally prepared for what will come next. This may be Armitage
making a societal comment, suggesting that soldiers are launched into situations they don’t fully understand, and the military lack of compassion for the individuals they are risking in strategic military situations - hence, he was “possibly not” armed. By opening
in media res, the poem also reflects the chaos of war and how unpredictable it is.
‘sort of inside out’ and ‘pain itself, the image of agony’
Gruesome imagery. Also shows the transition from colloquial to emotional. Rich imagery - “pain itself, the image of agony”. His colloquial language comes from trying to pretend he has not been impacted. Writing the poem is a process of going over memories and letting his actual emotions come out whilst on leave and escaped from the conflict zone.
‘tosses his guts back into his body/ Then he’s carted off in the back of a lorry’
“tosses” connotes a lack of care or respect Not respecting the body Body being treated like an object. Also suggest it is an action they are used to – don’t think anything of it – natural reaction. Body has no value – conflict causes the devaluation of human life – loss of sanctity. Also rhyme between “body” and “lorry”, which works to add fluidity – suggesting this is routine and they are used to it. Because they have been exposed to so much death and violence they are now desensitised to it. Lost their respect for life
‘his blood shadow stays on the street’
compound noun - Death stains a person’s conscience and memory just as it stains the street He is haunted by the memory – no way to escape it
’ leave. But’
Caesura provides a finality – should be final. Going home should bethe end of his memory of the event and the extent of its impact on him Warzone shouldn’t be able to impact him once he leaves
‘blink/and he bursts’
Enjambment across stanzas - separating reality from memory. Lots of plosives are used because they have a violent sound.
‘his bloody life in my bloody hands’
By using the adjective “bloody” in the line “his bloody life in my bloody hands”, Armitage is making a pun as this word could be describing the violent, gruesome nature of his death or could just being used as slang /curse. The later use of the word suggests that this event has ruined his life by having cursed him, and suggest he regrets killing him.
context:
‘Remains’ is based on the experiences of a soldier who served in Basra in Iraq. He suffered severe PTSD as a result of his experiences and the poem recalls one particular event where the soldier shot the looter of a bank and was left with horrendous flashbacks reliving the moment of the man’s death
Remains is formed of eight stanzas . The first seven stanzas are in largely unrhymed quatrains
The final stanza consists of only two lines and therefore stands out, emphasising the fact the speaker cannot rid himself of the memory of the killing. It could also imply disintegration in the speaker’s state of mind.
