remains

• The poem "Remains" by Simon Armitage explores the haunting experience of a soldier involved in the shooting of a bank looter, reflecting on the repercussions of war and conditions like PTSD
• The soldier is haunted by the violent death of the looter, suffering from guilt and reliving the moment, even when on leave
• The poem opens in media res, reflecting the chaos of war and the unpredictability soldiers face, launching them into situations they don't fully understand
• The soldier's desensitization to violence is depicted through the casual act of tossing the looter's guts back into his body, showing a lack of care or respect for human life
• The soldier's guilt is evident as he grapples with the possibility that the looter he killed might have been innocent, leading to his haunting memories and emotional turmoil
• The use of gruesome imagery in the poem, like "pain itself, the image of agony," portrays the soldier's emotional struggle and transition from colloquial language to expressing his true emotions
• Caesura in the poem provides a sense of finality, indicating that going home should mark the end of the impact of the warzone on the soldier, separating reality from memory
• Enjambment across stanzas separates reality from memory, with the use of plosives creating a violent sound to emphasize the impact of the soldier's experiences
• The adjective "bloody" in the poem serves as a pun, describing the violent nature of death and suggesting the soldier's regret and the curse of the event on his life
• The soldier is haunted by the memory of the looter, unable to escape it even when on leave, experiencing flashbacks that blur the lines between reality and memory
• The soldier's internal conflict and guilt are depicted as the memory of the looter continues to haunt him, symbolizing the impact of war on mental health and the desensitization caused by repeated exposure to violence
• The poem "Remains" by Armitage is written as a dramatic monologue in the present tense, using present participles to give a sense of being an account from memory in a flashback
• Flashbacks, a symptom of PTSD, are evident in the poem, possibly suggesting the speaker is recounting his experiences in a therapy-like setting
• The speaker in "Remains" needs to go over his experiences to process them and lessen their impact, possibly indicating a shift in perspective towards accepting responsibility and releasing repressed emotions
• The opening of the poem "Remains" is in media res, reflecting the confusion of soldiers unprepared for what comes next, suggesting societal commentary on soldiers being launched into situations they don't fully understand
• The opening also positions the reader as a listener, mirroring a conversation where the speaker needs someone to listen to his experiences and suffering to process his memories and guilt, akin to a confession or therapy
• The ending of "Remains" reveals the source of internal chaos as guilt, symbolized by the adjective "bloody" suggesting regret and responsibility for the death, a common theme in literature using hands as symbols of guilt
• The structure of "Remains" shifts blame from others to the speaker, highlighting the impact of guilt and PTSD on memory and perspective, with enjambment and caesura emphasizing tension and finality in key moments
• The concept of attachment is a strong reciprocal emotional bond between an infant and a primary caregiver
• Schaffer and Emerson's 1964 study aimed to identify stages of attachment and find a pattern in the development of attachment between infants and parents, with findings showing that babies of parents with 'sensitive responsiveness' were more likely to form attachments
• Colloquial language like "so", "I swear", "legs it", and "mates" used when referring to dead bodies in war suggests soldiers have become desensitized to the harsh realities of war
• Soldiers are viewed as tools of war, losing their individuality and humanity, as they are trained to think the same way, suspecting everyone of being an enemy and firing without question
• War causes soldiers to lose their individuality and humanity, as phrases like "three of a kind" and "are all of the same mind" show that they are all trained to think the same way, becoming more aggressive and distrusting
• Soldiers are programmed not to question the morality of killing and to shoot without thinking, only considering the implications afterwards, often altered by PTSD from the conflict
• The poem explores the idea that memory can be corrupted by trauma, leading to a shift in the speaker's narrative from deflecting blame to feeling entirely to blame, and how PTSD can isolate and change one's view of events
• Memory allows conflict to invade the domestic sphere, with the conjunction "but" showing that war continues to impact the soldier despite physically escaping it
• The speaker in the poem starts by denying involvement and guilt but ends up accepting it, reflecting the expectation for soldiers to be strong and not display emotions
• The poem uses anaphora to emphasize the speaker's focus on the possibility of the killing being unjustified, showing how guilt and regret play a significant role in the soldier's suffering
• Both "Remains" and "Poppies" highlight the psychological consequences of conflict due to guilt, with "Remains" using a blood motif and "Poppies" as an elegy that starts with remembrance
• Both poems show how the effects of war are damaging and painful, extending the impact of conflict through memory and exploring the impact of PTSD
• In "Remains" and "Charge of the Light Brigade," soldiers are depicted as serving with blind obedience, desensitized to war, and facing severe psychological impacts, contrasting the reality of war with the propaganda perspective of war's glory
• In "Remains" and "Bayonet Charge," both poems present psychological impacts on soldiers, with "Remains" focusing on PTSD and guilt, while "Bayonet Charge" explores futility and lack of honor in war