Remains

Question 1

Poem’s form

Answer 1

There’s no regular line length or rhyme scheme, making it sound like someone telling a story. The speaker starts with the first person plural ‘we’, but changes to fir person singular ‘I’ and the poem becomes more personal, sounding like a confession. In the final couplet, both lines have the same metre - this gives a feeling of finality and hints that the guilt will stay with the soldier.

Question 2

Poem’s structure

Answer 2

The poem begins as if it’s going to be an amusing anecdote, but it quickly turns into a graphic description of a man’s death. There is a clear volta at the beginning of the fifth stanza, where the soldiers tone, thoughts and emotions are changed by his guilt.

Question 3

Poem’s themes

Answer 3

• Power of memory
• Effects of conflict
• Internal conflict