remains

• The poem is written from the perspective of a soldier stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan (or any

  warzone really). They are on patrol and fire on some bank robbers. One of the looters appeared

  to possibly have a gun so they open fire. The rest of the poem is looking at the fact the solider,

  even long after this event, cannot leave the memory behind and carries this dead man with him in

  his mind.
• Post traumatic stress and mental illness is very common in soldiers who struggle to come to

  terms with some part of their duty, normally a horrific memory of killing or being in danger which

  gives them nightmares and panic attacks as well as depression and sometimes suicidal tendencies
• Simon Armitage is a famous UK poet who is known for being very direct in his work. His recent

  poems have looked at the experiences of war and soldiers.
• The poem is originally set in a warzone and naturally looks at conflict in a direct way. However it also looks heavily at the after effects of

  conflict and the long term effects it has on the people involved. Power is partly shown in this as well, firstly the soldiers power over life and

  death but later the power over their own memory and experiences. Mental health and morality are also key in this.
• The poem is written in 8 stanzas, the last of which is a couplet which leaves the poem on a dramatic end

  note. It does not rhyme and the poem is a monologue, using very conversational asides and syntax to structure the

  sentences into a very conversational tone “end of story, not really”.
• There is also a lot of enjambment and caesura used to

  emphasises the natural speech patterns of the speaker. 
•  Another key factor in this poem is the use of colloquialism (slang)

  and personal pronouns to give it a sense of realism, “One of my mates,”.
• There is a loose set of rhymes in the poem, often internal and used to give an almost childish aspect to the horror of the

  warzone. It perhaps suggests how numb this soldier is to what is happening.
• The speaker in the poem (the soldier) appears to be numb to the horror of the experience of war, most of the horrific images of death and

  killing are juxtaposed to the casual nature of the way the soldier speaks, using slang and clichés. In part this reflects a conflict in himself, the

  way he sees these events and how they affect him, but also his way of trying to maintain control, by trivialising the whole experience.
• -The poem explores the events in a soldiers life which in turn

  trigger PTSD, it is worth noting the memory hurts him more

  than the event itself
• The colloquial nature of the speakers voice is used to

  create a sense of heightened realism to the piece.
• -The poet suggests a conflict in the speakers mind, an

  avoidance of the reality of what happened which haunts him
• The title "remains" could be seen as a pun, may be Armitage either using it to describe the remains of the human bodies after war, or the emotional wound that remains in the mind of each soldier
• key quote 1- "On another occasion,

  we got sent out/ to tackle looters raiding a bank."
• key quote 1- this is the first line of the poem, and opens in media res, this confuses the reader, this perhaps is used to mirror the confusion of the soldier, who isn't emotionally prepared for what his role requires him to do. Armitage is implying that soldiers are launched into situations they don't fully understand, also reflects the chaos of war and how unpredictable it is
• key quote 1- The words "on another occasion" shows that its not the first time or an exceptional case, and violence is a reality that soldiers are expected to deal with on a day to day basis, and they're expected to deal with repeated exposure to suffering and horror with no help
• key quote 1- the verb "tackle" is associated with football and shows the young age and naivety of the soldiers whose terminology reveals that they were not ready for the magnitude and level of violence required
• key quote 1- the soldiers "got sent out", so they were following orders, thinking it was their duty but it wasn't their choice
• key quote 1- the word "looters" is a negative word, so suggests that the soldiers have been brainwashed and already have made up their minds that the victims were guilty
• key quote 1- the soldiers are "raiding a bank" which isn't a normal job we expect soldiers doing, but the metaphor represents how soldiers end up taking a range of responsibilities beyond fighting in wars.
• key quote 2- "Well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind,/ so all three of us open fire."
• key quote 2- there are three soldiers ("all three...") but the reader isn't given isn't given specifics of who was there, who did the shooting and who was killed and There's no mention of which war the soldier is in. - may represent how common this is in all wars
• key quote 2- The soldier is showing his comradeship and taking blame for the war, this is evident through the use of repetition combined with the polysyndeton, "and somebody else and somebody else" shows that it is irrelevant who else was there. This is then structurally reinforced as the pronoun "myself" comes first, highlighting how he is taking responsibility and ownership for what they did
• key quote 2- the repetition of "all" emphasises the force of the group attack, conveying an unfair power dynamic and making the victim seem vulnerable
• key quote 2- Armitage uses religious imagery of "fire" as its associated with hell and suffering, they inflicted pain and punishment onto the looter. This perhaps is used to tell the readers that war puts people in god-like positions where they can take lives
• key quote 3- "His blood-shadow stays on the street,

  and out on patrol/I walk right over it week after week."
• key quote 3- the pronoun "his" portrays his lack of motive, he doesn't know his name and has depersonalised himself
• key quote 3- the metaphor "blood-shadow" emphasises his ptsd and the effect that war has on soldiers like him, as it shows that death stains a persons conscience, just as it stains a street. Just like a "shadow", the death follows a person, and he is haunted by his crime
• key quote 3- the sibilance in "stays" and "street" creates an unsettling tone, mirroring his sinister actions, and mimics the sound of his fear. This is reinforced by the repetition in "week after week", reinforcing that he is constantly reminded of what he has done, he lives in fear and there is no escape
• key quote 3- the alliteration in "week" being repeated sounds like lips quivering, as if the soldier is filled with remorse and regret
• key quote 4- "his bloody life in my bloody hands", the blood imagery being repeated reinforces his sense of frustration, and the image of having blood on his hands symbolises the guilt he is unable to rid himself of. "bloody" could also be interpreted as a swear word and mark his anger or regret.