15.1.1

Summary

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Summary of Remains

In Simon Armitage's Remains, the speaker describes an occasion during war when he shot a looter.

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Summary

  • The speaker describes an occasion during war when he shot a looter.
  • He is unable to get the memory out of his mind and is traumatised.
  • He is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD – anxiety caused by very distressing or traumatising events) even when he is home.
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Context

  • This is a contemporary poem.
  • It explores the impact of war on soldiers' mental health, even when they are no longer fighting.
  • Armitage based the poem on an account of a real soldier as part of a collection called “The Not Dead”.
  • This also featured as part of a television series. In the series, the soldier the poem is based on describes the incident and its lasting impact.

Key Concepts in Remains

The poem explores a soldier's experience in war and the aftermath.

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Trauma and guilt

  • The poet explores a lesser discussed aspect of war: returning home and living with the traumatic memories of acts committed in war.
  • The soldier is overwhelmed with feelings of guilt. The poet raises questions about the way men in war are conditioned. They are conditioned to put aside their personal emotions when they commit acts of violence or destruction.
  • Like the soldiers in ‘Bayonet Charge’ and ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, these men are following orders. There is no room for their thoughts or feelings about the value of human life and the moral implications of taking it.
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Contrast: war and the aftermath

  • There is a contrast between:
    • The casualness of death when the soldier is at war.
    • The horror of his memories when he is in a different context at home.
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Injustice of war

  • There is a sense of the injustice of conflict. The looter was potentially not dangerous but lost his life anyway.
  • Split decisions are made in war about life or death. They have lasting consequences.

Jump to other topics

1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

2London - William Blake (1757-1827)

3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)

6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson

9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)

10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)

11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)

12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)

13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)

14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)

15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)

16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons

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