English Literature Poetry-Remains

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  • Created by: Humaa 123
  • Created on: 14-12-18 18:33
What is the poem called?
Remains
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Who is the author?
Simon Armitage
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When was it written?
2008
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What is it about?
A group of soldiers shoot a man who's running away from a bank raid he's been involved in. His death is described in graphic detail. The soldier telling the story isn't sure whether the man was armed or not-this plays on his mind.
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What is it about?
He can't get the man's death out of his head-he's haunted by it.
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Feelings and Attitudes (Nonchalance)
Initially, there's a very casual attitude towards the death of the ma- the tone at the start of the poem is anecdotal. He's shot without warning and his body is just thrown into a lorry and "carted off"
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Feelings and Attitudes (Guilt)
The speaker can't get the memory of the killing out of his mind. He is tormented by thoughts of the man, and wondering whether he was armed or not. The poem ends with the speaker acknowledging that he has blood on his hands-he knows he's guilty.
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"On another occasion"
This sounds like one in a series of stories, and the reader is listening in.
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"legs it"
Colloquial expression- makes it sound like an ordinary anecdote.
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"probably armed, possibly not."
There's doubt here, which contrasts strongly with the definite action that follows.
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"all", "all three", "Three", "all"
Repetition sounds like he's keen for the reader to know it wasn't just him- hints that he feels guilty.
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"open fire"
This comes as a surprise- the sudden violence doesn't fit with the casual tone.
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"I"
Poetic voice switches to "I"- this is now more personal.
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"I see"
Repetition of "I" see emphasises the visual horror of the scene.
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"it rips through his life-"
This violent metaphor contrasts shockingly with the colloquial style of the first two stanzas.
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"broad daylight on the other side"
This is quite a grotesque, exaggerated image-he says he can see straight through the bullet holes in the man's body.
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"sort of inside out"
This is an almost childish description of the man's body- the speaker seems unable to process it in an adult way.
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"and tosses his guts back into his body.Then he's carted off in the back off a lorry."
Two very casual, cold actions- no respect for the dead man. "Tosses" and "carted off" make it sound as if the body is a piece of rubbish.
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"End of story, except not really."
Turning point (volta) in the poem. The speaker's mood changes.
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"His blood-shadow stays on the street"
A visual reminder of the death-it foreshadows the memories that are going to haunt him.
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"Then I'm home on leave."
Short, simple sentence suggests he thinks that once he's at home he'll forget the terrible things he's seen. The suddenness of the line also hints at the speaker being confused.
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"blink"
The stanza ending reflects the blinking-the enjambment carries you forwards, and the horror is still there when the next stanza starts.
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"Sleep", "Dream"
Short words, separated from the rest of the line by caesurae, sound like gun shots.
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"probably armed, possibly not"
Repetition of line 4 shows that he's replaying the event in his mind, and hints at his inner turmoil.
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"dug in behind enemy lines,"
The metaphor compares the memory stuck in his mind to a soldier in a trench.
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"some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land"
The violent parts of the compound adjectives, "stunned" and "smothered", show how the place is affected by war. The long line and the sibilance slow the pace and reflect the speaker's lack of clear thought.
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"his bloody life"
There could be a double meaning to "bloody"- he's talking about the man's blood, but also swearing in anger.
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"my"
There's no collective responsibility- he feels completely responsible.
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"bloody hands"
Possible reference to Macbeth- after persuading her husband to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands.This allusion hints that the speaker has been unbalanced by his guilt, as Lady Macbeth was.
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Form
There's no regular rhyme scheme or line scheme, making it sound like someone telling a story. Speaker starts with first person plural but changes to first person singular and poem becomes more personal, sounding like a confession.
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Form
Final couplet, both lines have the same metre- this gives a feeling of finality and hints that the guilt will stay with the soldier.
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Structure
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 beginning of the fifth stanza, where the soldier's tone+thoughts+emotions are changed by his guilt
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Graphic Imagery
The man's death is described in gory detail, with the implication that his "guts" have spilt out onto the ground. The imagery reminds the reader of the horrors of war, but also shows how desensitised to violence and death the speaker was at the time
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Colloquial Language
The first four stanzas have lots of chatty, familiar language, which helps make the poem sound like someone telling a story. However, this language also trivialises the man's death.
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Repetition
Words are repeated to reflect the way that the killing is repeated in the speaker's mind.
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Card 2

Front

Who is the author?

Back

Simon Armitage

Card 3

Front

When was it written?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is it about?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is it about?

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Preview of the front of card 5
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