Remains

who’s remains written by

Simon armitage

what the documentary the poem is made off is about

• the impact of war when soldiers return home

main message of remains

• raising awareness of PTSD and trying to gain better recognition of it in society

good poems for comparison with remains

• bayonet charge

• war photographer

context

• based on a young solider fighting in Iraq

• speaker in poem isn’t named so makes the reader understand and connect to the soldier more

language (evidence + intentions) device used

• loss of humanity

evidence—> colloquial language to talk about a horrific event

intention—> soldier has become desensitised to the horrific reality of war

annotations of ‘on another occasion, we get sent out’

• poem starts in middle of a convo—> represents he’s been speaking about his experience for a while

• ‘we got sent out’ indicates he’s working under someone else’s orders

armitage’s intention with ‘on another occasion, we get sent out

• he uses a colloquial opening, making it seem the soldiers speaking to an unknown third party.

• slang implies he’s young, representing soldiers are thrown into things without understanding or a choice.

structural evidence for inner conflict + intent

the poems focus shifts to the soldier when he says ‘i swear’

• he’s referencing how PTSD can change peoples views on the past and memories

annotations of ‘well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind’

• their training has made their instinct all the same, instantly thinking the looter is a threat

armitage’s intention with ‘well myself and somebody else and somebody else are all of the same mind’

• the soldiers are all all blurred together as one, stripping them of their individuality completely