Remains

• The poem is about a soldier who is haunted by his involvement in the shooting of a bank looter. It explores the repercussions of war and PTSD.
• In 2019 Armitage became the new poet Laureate. He often focuses on relatable situations and uses accessible language combined with complex structures to explore themes.
• Remains was written for "The Not Dead". This was a 2007 documentary about the impact of war on soldiers returning home. The poem and documentary coincided with the changing public opinion of opposing war.
• The conflict in Iraq was considered unnecessary. Armitage's poem helped raise awareness and incite sympathy for soldiers in Iraq.
• "On another occasion"


  The poem opens in media res (mid-action) which serves to confuse the reader who don't know what is happening. This mirrors confusion of the soldier, as they are not emotionally prepared for what will come next. Armitage may be making a societal comment, suggesting soldiers are launched into situations they don't fully understand.
• "On another occasion"


  "another" signifies this is one of many. Armitage is showing here that this is not an exceptional case but simply the reality that soldiers deal with on a day-to-day basis. Repeatedly exposed to these horrors with no help.
• "Probably armed, possibly not"


  Armitage suggests the soldier doubts the weaponry of the looter. He doesn't know if he was armed. This shows that the soldier feels guilt for killing a potentially harmless man.
• "Well myself and somebody else and somebody else / are all of the same mind"


  Repetition shows how he is avoiding responsibility. Potentially to avoid the full weight of a life lost in his hands. He is trying to justify his choices.
• "Sort of inside out, / pain itself, the image of agony."

  • Gruesome imagery.
  • Transition from colloquial to emotional (sort of to the image of agony)
  • Trying to pretend as if he is not impacted
  • The poem is a process of going over memories and letting his actual ones out.
• "One of my mates goes by / and tosses his guts back into his body. / Then he's carted off in the back of a lorry."

  • Doesn't care the body is being treated like an object
  • The rhyme between "body" and "lorry" adds fluidity- and suggests they are used to this routine.
  • Desensitised to violence.
• "He's here in my head when I close my eyes, dug in behind enemy ,lines"
• "But I blink / and he bursts again through the doors of the bank"

  • Enjambment between stanzas. separating reality from memory.
  • Also potentially the pause when he remembers, showing the guilt and PTSD from the flashbacks.
  • Merging of reality and memory reflected by merging of lines.
• "But near to the knuckle, here and now"

  • Idiom meaning 'risky or verging on offensive'. The memory still feels offensive. Even now away from the conflict it causes him pain and trauma. PTSD.
• "his bloody life in my bloody hands"

  • Double meaning, slang/curse or the gruesome nature of death.
  • The slang meaning would suggest he is cursed by this and it has ruined his life. He is regretful.
  • The gruesome meaning would suggest he feels overwhelmed by death. The life he took, his hands, all covered in blood. His wrongdoings are inescapable.
• The title 'Remains' had a few possible meanings

  • Soldiers remain damaged beyond repair after the war is over
  • Dead bodies
  • War strips are person of their individuality and sensitivity to death, simply leaving them with the remains of a body
  • Refers to the physical remains of the looter.
• Remains is written in a dramatic monologue and in the present tense. This gives the sense that it is an account from the soldiers personal memory.
• BEST REMAINS COMPARISONS:

  • Charge of the light brigade
  • Bayonet Charge
  • Poppies