1. ‘Remains’ by Simon Armitage
GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE: POETRY
For weaker students, you may want to look at the ‘Remain Teaching Pack’ in the Staff Only folder which has some useful activities.

2. What ideas come to mind when you look at this image?

3. What ideas come to mind when you look at this image of the Cenotaph War Memorial?

4. What ideas come to mind when you look at this image?

5. What ideas come to mind when you look at this image of soldiers showing their respects to colleagues who have died?

6. What ideas come to mind when you look at this image of crowds celebrating soldiers’ return from war?

7. 1. anxiety 7. severe 4. distress 2. fear 5. upset 8. stress
What about these words – what does this semantic field make you think of?
1. anxiety
7. severe
4. distress
2. fear
5. upset
All of these words are connected to mental health or PTSD. The idea here is to encourage students to consider the prolonged mental impact of war and the veterans who have to cope with their experiences once they return home/leave the conflict.
8. stress
3. flashbacks
6. traumatic

8. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.
The type of events that can cause PTSD include: serious road accidents; violent personal assaults, such as sexual assault, mugging or robbery; prolonged sexual abuse, violence or severe neglect; witnessing violent deaths; military combat; being held hostage; terrorist attacks; natural disasters, such as severe floods, earthquakes or tsunamis.
PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event or it can occur weeks, months or even years later.
PTSD is estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience.

9. How does PTSD affect people?
Someone with PTSD will often relive 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 – and often extremely damaging – impact on the person’s day-to-day life.

10. ‘Remains’
Discuss:
What do you think the definition of the word ‘remains’ is?
In what ways do you think it might link to the images we’ve just been looking at?
In what ways do you think it might link to the words and information we’ve just been looking at?
Encourage students to think about remains as leftovers: what’s disregarded or unwanted. Develop the discussion to make predictions about what the poem might be about.

11. ‘Remains’
Feedback:
What do you think the definition of the word ‘remains’ is?
In what ways do you think it might link to the images we’ve just been looking at?
In what ways do you think it might link to the words and information we’ve just been looking at?
Encourage students to think about remains as leftovers: what’s disregarded or unwanted. Develop the discussion to make predictions about what the poem might be about.

12. ‘Remains’ Now let’s read the poem.
Extra Challenge: whilst you are reading, can you link any of the ideas from the starter activities to what is being described?

13. ‘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.

14. 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.

15. 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 -

16. 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.

17. So, what do you think?
What do you think the poem is about? Share your ideas with a partner.
What do you think the poem is about? Share your ideas with a different partner.
Be prepared to share your ideas – get ready to write some notes!
Extra Challenge: why do you think the poet might have written this poem?
Could get weaker students to draw key images and label them with quotes.

18. What the poet said… From a collection of poetry called ‘The Not Dead’.
Inspired by a Channel 4 documentary of the same name (youtube) about soldiers who returned from conflicts (Malaysia, Afghanistan and Bosnia) and how they coped.
Could discuss the connotations of ‘The Not Dead’.
There is also an article in the Staff Only folder which you could read and discuss with students.
Watch from – (Some expletives)

19. What the poet said…
“These are poems of survivors – the damaged, exhausted men who return from war in body but never, wholly, in mind.”

20. “These are poems of survivors – the damaged, exhausted men who return from war in body but never, wholly, in mind.”
These are photographs taken of soldiers before, during and after conflict.

21. “These are poems of survivors – the damaged, exhausted men who return from war in body but never, wholly, in mind.”
These are photographs taken of soldiers before, during and after conflict.

22. “These are poems of survivors – the damaged, exhausted men who return from war in body but never, wholly, in mind.”
These are photographs taken of soldiers before, during and after conflict.

23. Now let’s look more closely at the poem…
In your groups, you have been allocated a stanza of the poem.
You must answer the following five questions, writing detailed notes, and then get ready to share your responses with the rest of the class – this is a S & L activity.
We’ll do one stanza together first so that you understand exactly what to do and the level of thinking required.

24. Stanza 1 – as a class
Describe what you think is happening/being referred to in your stanza.
Highlight/underline examples of simplistic or informal language. Add notes to say what effects these choices have: why do you think Armitage might have used them?
Identify and label any poetic devices (figurative language, enjambment, rhyme, etc.). Add comments to try and explain what effects these have.
Look carefully at the structure of the poem: which words are emphasised by the use of enjambment and full stops? Identify these and add comments to try and explain what effects these have. (Tip: think about how the structure might link to the subject matter).
Try and sum up the speaker’s feelings or emotions in your stanza using words and/or images.
Teacher should model the analysis of the poem here with the first stanza.

25. Now look more closely at your stanza of the poem…
In your groups, you now need to follow the same steps to annotate your section of this poem.
You may wish to give students an A3 copy of the stanza, or just get them to annotate on their copies of the poem.

26. Feedback your stanza of the poem…
You may wish to give students an A3 copy of the stanza, or just get them to annotate on their copies of the poem.

27. Review: What do you think?
What do you think is the most effective part of this poem? Justify your response.
Extra Challenge: Do you think poetry (or literature) is ever able truly describe these soldiers’ feelings?

28. Exam Style Response
Compare the ways poets present ideas about conflict in ‘Remains’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’.
Underline the key words in the question.
Brainstorm key ideas for ‘Remains’.
Link to one other poem – add ideas to your brainstorm.
Pick your top idea and write a point/topic sentence which you could write to answer this question.