‘Remains’ Simon Armitage

Remains is from a collection of poetry called ‘The Not Dead’. It was inspired by a Channel 4 documentary which Armitage made in 2007 of the same name about soldiers who returned from conflicts (Malaysia, Afghanistan and Bosnia) and how they coped. Why do you think that title was chosen?

These are photographs taken of soldiers before, during and after conflict.

These are photographs taken of soldiers before, during and after conflict.

These are photographs taken of soldiers before, during and after conflict.

Watch the clip How has war affected the soldiers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvA3K-tC6t8 (23-32 mins) Does it change your impression of war?

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events. Someone with PTSD often relives the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks, and may experience feelings of isolation, irritability and guilt. They may also have problems sleeping, such as insomnia, and find concentrating difficult. These symptoms are often severe and persistent enough to have a significant impact on the person’s day-to-day life.

The importance of the title: What are the connotations of the word ‘remains’? What different meanings could this have in the poem? What does this suggest this poem could be about?

Read the poem Use these questions to guide you: What are we informed about in the first stanza? How does the speaker feel at first towards the man they shoot? Where is the turning point when his feelings change? What do the final lines suggest about the feelings of the speaker now towards his actions? sjmnb/revision

‘Remains’ by Simon Armitage On another occasion, we got sent out to tackle looters raiding a bank. And one of them legs it up the road, probably armed, possibly not. Well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind, so all three of us open fire. 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. So we’ve hit this looter a dozen times and he’s there on the ground, sort of inside out, pain itself, the image of agony. 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. 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. Then I’m home on leave. But I blink and he bursts again through the doors of the bank. 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 – he’s here in my head when I close my eyes, dug in behind enemy lines, not left for dead in some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land or six-feet-under in desert sand, but near to the knuckle, here and now, his bloody life in my bloody hands. Simon Armitage.

Today, after school: supported study E13 – 3.30 start. Modelling a poetry essay

On another occasion, we got sent out to tackle looters raiding a bank On another occasion, we got sent out to tackle looters raiding a bank. And one of them legs it up the road, probably armed, possibly not.

Well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind, so all three of us open fire. 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. So we've hit this looter a dozen times and he's there on the ground, sort of inside out,  

pain itself, the image of agony. 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.

End of story, except not really 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. Then I'm home on leave. But I blink

and he bursts again through the doors of the bank. 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 -

he's here in my head when I close my eyes, dug in behind enemy lines, not left for dead in some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land or six-feet-under in desert sand,   but near to the knuckle, here and now, his bloody life in my bloody hands.

The adverbial phrase at the beginning of the poem implies that the soldier has other unpleasant memories too. On another occasion, we got sent out to tackle looters raiding a bank. And one of them legs it up the road, probably armed, possibly not. The colloquial language makes it appear that this is an ordinary anecdote. This line introduces the element of doubt.

Repetition of ‘all’ and ‘three’ suggests that the speaker wants to make the reader aware that it wasn’t just him acting, hinting at guilt. It also implies that they have been trained to act in the same way. Well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind, so all three of us open fire. Three of a kind all letting fly, and I swear The switch to the first person singular makes the incident seem more personal.

The verb ‘rips’ reinforces the damage and destructiveness of the attack. The ironic echo of the phrase ‘Rest in Peace’ underlines how this killing comes to haunt him. This violent metaphor contrasts with the colloquial style to the first two stanzas. The use of the noun ‘life’ emphasises what has been destroyed or taken away. I see every round as it rips through his life - I see broad daylight on the other side. So we've hit this looter a dozen times and he's there on the ground, sort of inside out, This phrase implies the unnatural appearance of the corpse, as well as how graphic and grizzly the sight is.

pain itself, the image of agony pain itself, the image of agony. 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. The use of colloquial language, particularly the verbs ‘tosses’ and ‘carted off’ suggest that the soldiers are desensitised to the horrors of war. In addition, it implies that the soldiers have no respect for the individual; he is treated like a piece of rubbish.

The poem’s volta (turning point), indicating a change in the speaker’s mood, reinforced by the use of caesura. This image creates the sense that the man’s blood stains the street, but also makes the reader think that the memory is haunting the soldier. 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. Then I'm home on leave. But I blink The stanza ending reflects the ‘blink’ – the enjambment carries the reader forward and the horror is still there in the next stanza.

The physically powerful verb implies that this memory can resurface violently and suddenly. The use of the present tense shows that the thought is constantly present in his mind. The repetition of the fourth line of the poem reinforces his continuing doubt and inner turmoil. The use of caesurae reinforces how even times of privacy or peace are interrupted by the replaying of this incident. and he bursts again through the doors of the bank. 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 -

he's here in my head when I close my eyes, dug in behind enemy lines, The metaphor makes us think that the victim is like a soldier in a trench: difficult to remove and ready to attack him (his conscience) at any time. He’s deep within his sub-conscience. The use of compound adjectives, sibilance and assonance slows the pace of this line, the longest in the poem. This shows how he and the place have been affected long-term by the war. he's here in my head when I close my eyes, dug in behind enemy lines, not left for dead in some distant, sun-stunned, sand-smothered land or six-feet-under in desert sand,   but near to the knuckle, here and now, his bloody life in my bloody hands. Possible reference to ‘Macbeth’, where Lady Macbeth is tortured by thoughts of the murder of King Duncan and imagines blood on her hands. The allusion hints that the speaker has been unbalanced by his guilt, as Lady Macbeth was. The repetition of ‘bloody’ suggests that his hands are stained with the man’s blood, but also make it seem as though he is swearing in anger. The use of the possessive pronoun ‘my’ show that the sense of responsibility and guilt is now individual, rather than collective.

Context: Originally broadcast in a Channel 4 documentary of the same name, ‘The Not Dead’ is a short collection of war poems written, not in battle, but as a response to the testimonies of ex-soldiers featured in the programme. ’Remains’ is one of the poems in that collection. The ‘Not Dead’ are the ex-servicemen and the ghosts trapped in their memories; the people who live and die and live again every time one of the veterans experiences a bad memory. The documentary and the poems helped to raise the profile of the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder, experienced by ex-servicemen. Form: The poem is in the form of a monologue. The speaker starts in the first person plural but switches to the first person singular to make it sound more personal and like a confession. The lack of a regular line length and rhyme scheme make it seem more like somebody is telling a story. Structure: The poem begins as though it is an ordinary or amusing anecdote but it quickly becomes a graphic description of a man’s death. There is a clear volta at the start of the fifth stanza, where the soldiers tone thoughts and emotions are changed by his guilt.

Analyse the language and structure of the stanza you have been given Analyse the language and structure of the stanza you have been given. Consider: Structure: Internal rhyme Rhythm Stanzas: length / arrangement Enjambment Caesura punctuation Couplet / quatrains Repetition Juxtaposition Sentence structure Language: Colloquial language Verb tense Verbs Nouns / noun phrases Adjectives Metaphors Sibilance

Well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind, so all three of us open fire. 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. So we've hit this looter a dozen times and he's there on the ground, sort of inside out, pain itself, the image of agony. 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.

Task: complete this revision sheet for ‘Remains’ HL complete the other side on another poem (and others).

Compare the ways in which ‘Remains’ by Armitage and ‘War Photographer’ by Duffy explore the theme of power