Remains, Simon Armitage. -Context Flashcards
(6 cards)
what is the overall message of the poem?
to explore the lasting psychological damage caused by conflict.
how is colloquial language significant within this poem? (2)
-create a sense of heightened realism within the piece.
-alternatively, it is the soldier’s subconscious coping mechanism: trivialising the whole experience.
___ of a ____ all letting fly, and I swear
I see every ____ as it ____ through his ____ –
I see _____ ____ on the other side.
Three of a kind all letting fly, and I swear
I see every round as it rips through his life –
I see broad daylight on the other side.
End of _____ , ______ not really.
His _____-____ stays on the street, and out on _____
I walk right over it _____ after ______.
End of story, except not really.
His blood-shadow stays on the street, and out on patrol
I walk right over it week after week.
______, and he’s _____ _____, and ____ ____.
_______, and he’s _____ apart by a dozen _____.
And the ____ and the ____ won’t _____ him out
Sleep, and he’s probably armed, and possibly not.
Dream, and he’s torn apart by a dozen rounds.
And the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out
his _____ life in my _____ hands.
his bloody life in my bloody hands.
