Remains

Question 1

Who is the poem made by - Remains

Answer 1

Simon armitage

Question 2

Who is the poem based - Remains

Answer 2

Guardsman Tromans who was a machine gunner in the Iraq war

Question 3

Themes of remains - Remains

Answer 3

Undescribeable horror of war
Guilt
Pyschological imapcts of warfare
Long term impacts of war

Question 4

Structure of the poem used and why is it used - Remains

Answer 4

Poem started with “On another occasion” mid-action shows the lack of ease the soldiers felt and the chaotic nature of war

‘his bloody life in MY blood hands” at the end acknowledges the consequences of his actions. Stucture point as it changes from a collective consequence to individual

Caesura in ‘Then I’m home on leave.’ Suggests that the soldier feels like there is a sense of finallity however the next 2 sentences reflects back to what caused his trauma.

Repetitive structure ‘possibly armed, possibly not’ in stanza 1 and ‘possibly armed ,possibky not’ stanza 5. This shwos that his trauma is inescapeable

Heavy enjambment (can’t seperate past/present)

Question 5

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 1 - Remains

Answer 5

Colloquiallisms of informal language ‘probably armed , possibly not’,’on another occasion’. Shows that it is an everyday occurence for soldiers. However is broken in stanza 3 ‘round rips theough his life’ when he uses horrific imagery to describe the ordinary event (structural point)

‘One another occasion’ poem starts in a media res which mirros the confusion of soldiers

‘Get sent out’ soldiers expected to deal with occuring exposure to suffering without any help

‘Are all of the same mind’ shows how soldiers are trained to think alike and are viewed as objects carrying out a mission

Question 6

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 2 - Remains

Answer 6

Repetition of “somebody else” shifts blame unto others to reduce the impact of the suffering and guilt the soldiers felt from his actions. Additionally, repetition of three also has the same effect

Enjambement between stanza ‘Three of a kind all letting fly, and I swear // I see every round as it rips through his life. The break of stanza line refletcs the broken man the soldier became

Question 7

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 3 - Remains

Answer 7

‘Sort of inside out’ gruesome imager transition from colloquial to emotional .

Rich imagery “pain itself , the imagery of agony”. Colloquial language trying to pretend he hasn’t been impacted however is expressing his emotions and memories whilst back at home

Question 8

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 4 - Remains

Answer 8

‘Tosses his guts back into the body and is carted off’ the verbs are disrespectful to the man which reflects how the soldiers value human life

Question 9

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 5 - Remains

Answer 9

‘Drink and deugs won’t flush him out’ . The word flush suggests that tge soldiers is ucnlean/sick andhis trying to get rid of his thought/memories

‘Blood-shadow’ blood stains the street and memory of the soldier

‘I blink’ flashbacks impossible to distinguish between being awake and in a dream. His memories merged like the lines

Question 10

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 6 - Remains

Answer 10

‘Dug in behind enemy lines’ soldiers uses war imagery on leave which reflects the impact of war on the soldier (inescapable)

‘And he bursts’ enjambment across stanzas seperating memory.

Lots of plosives used (violent sound)

‘He’s here in my head when I close my eyes’. Warzone in his head. Internal conflict due to guilt. Soldier has ptsd/trauma from the event.

Question 11

How is langauge used in the poem
Stanza 7 - Remains

Answer 11

‘his bloody life in my blood hands” acknowledges the consequences of his actions

Sibilance of ‘sun-stunned,sand-smothered land’ emphasises the sentence whilst compound adjectives of ‘sun/sand’ which are positive are now sinsister shown by ‘stunned/smothered’. This reflects how the soldier is tainted by his actions

‘Bloody hands’ reference of Macbeth shows how the horrific act of killing/war is permanent

Question 12

What can the name of the poem represent - Remains

Answer 12

Remains- represents the soldiers metaphorical remains (what left of his innocence after killing someone) or the remains of the death of the looter and how it effects the soldier

Question 13

Form in the poem - Remains

Answer 13

Dramatic monologue

8 stanza , 7 quatrains

No rhyme scheme or meter

Question 14

Remains similarities with BC

Answer 14

BC the speaker starts questioning his role in war, such as in “the finger pointing that second”, to realise futility and lack of honour. The theme of psychological impact is also investigated in Remains however the writer’s focus is on PTSD

Remains, the speaker is scared of the past and keeps remembering it. Whereas in BC the soldier is scared of the future and how he could get killed

BC the leaders of war are criticised because they don’t protect soldiers, but there is a more internal
criticism in Remains as he criticises his own actions and feels ashamed and guilty.

Question 15

Remain difference with BC

Answer 15

I’n BC the effects are an acute impact as he is scared in war and effects are instant whereas in Remains war impacts him after shown by caesura and enjambment (long term suffering)

In Remains the effects are much longer lasting shown by how warfare still effects him after demonstrated through his domestic vocab mixed with military imagery ‘Dug in behind enemy lines’ and rich language

Question 16

Remain similariites sith COTLB

Answer 16

Both poets present the expectation that soldiers will not question orders, and will serve the military with blind obedience, Soldiers are shown to be desensitised to war and treated like tools rather than individuals with real thoughts and feelings.

Both poems demonstrate the reality of war vs. the presented propaganda perspective of the glory of war. In reality, war will have severe psychological impact, but in propaganda soldiers are shown to be brave heroes who are saving their counties.

Question 17

Remains differences with COTLB

Answer 17

Remains presents the impact of war on the individual whilst COTLB glorifies the collective impact of soldiers on a nation; collectively they bring glory, but at the expense of the individual

Remains, memory is damaging, and causes conflict to be taken home and have long lasting impact. On the other hand, in the poem COTLB, memory as presented as a motivator as soldiers hope to be remembered and glorified as they make history.

Question 18

Remains similarities with Poppies

Answer 18

Both poems show how the effects of war are damaging and painful.

Question 19

Remains differences with Poppies

Answer 19

In remains pyschological consequences of conflict are due to guilt, highlighted by the blood motif whereas in BC psychological consequences of conflict are due to guilt and loss, highlighted by the form of the poem as an elegy which starts with remembrance.

Memory extends the impact of conflict an exploration of the impact of PTSD - enjambment can’t separate past from present and the caesura shows how PTSD is interrupting his normal life whereas in BC the impact of conflict: conflict overshadows every aspect of life and her memory of her son, which blends domestic and military.