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Remains - Coggle Diagram
Remains
Memory
The speaker is haunted by the memory of killing the looter. Going home doesn't help him, his sleep is disturbed and he can't "flush" out the memory with "drink" or "drugs".
The monosyllabic, punchy line openings of "Sleep" and "Dream" imitate the loud, violent sounds of bullet shots, and reflect the way that he is jolted awake at night by memories of the killing
The metaphor of a soldier "dug in behind enemy lines" emphasises how the memory is stuck in his mind, and hints at the danger of the memory- it has the potential to destroy him
Effects of Conflict
The soldier dehumanises the looter and presens the killing as a normal part of his job, as shown by the poem's anecdotal tone and opening phrase, "On another occasion", colloquial verbs like "tosses" and "carted off" describe how the soldiers casually dispose of the body. This suggests that conflict can devalue human life and make violence seem normal
However, memories of conflict have a deep psychological impact on the soldier
The final stanza of the poem is made up of only two lines rather than the normal four- the disruption of the poem's form mirrors the soldier's breakdown
Reality of Conflict
War forced people to make morally complicated decisions on the spur of the moment. The soldier is left a disturbing feeling of responsibility, as shown by the phrase "his bloody life in my bloody hands".
Graphic images present the reader with a vivid picture of the horror of war- the speaker describes seeing "broad daylight" through the bullet holes in the looter, which is a grotesque, disturbing image.
The soldier unable to remain detached from the reality of what he's done- his sleep is interrupted by repeated images of the man being "torn apart" and he is haunted by hos memories
Negative Emotions. Guilt
The soldier's guilt seems to stem from his doubt as to whether or not the looter was armed. The repetition of "probably armed, possibly not" shows that he's replaying the action in his mind and trying to work out if his actions were justified
The guilt eats away at the soldier- he says the dead man is "here in my head when i close my eyes". The potential reference to Lady Macbeth in the final line hints that guilt is driving the soldier mad.
The shift of voice from first person plural ("we") to first person singular ("I2) shows that the soldier feels personally responsible for the death. This is confirmed in the final line, where emphasis falls on "my".
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About
A group of soldiers shoot a man who's running away from a bank raid he's been involved in. His death is described in graphical detail. The soldier telling the story isn't sure whether the man was armed or not- this play's on his mind. He can't get the man's death out of his head- he's haunted by it
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Colloquial language
The first four stanzas have lots of chatty, familiar language, which helps make the poem sound like someone telling a story. However, this language also trivialises the man's death
Graphic imagery
The man's death is described in gory detail, with the implication that his "guts" have split out onto the ground. The imagery reminds the reader of the horrors of war, but also shows how desensitised to violence and death the speaker was at the time- they had become part of his everyday life
Armitage made a film for Channel 4 in 2007 called The Not Dead and wrote a collection of poems of the same name. In preparation for this work, he interviewed veteran soldiers of different wars. The poem presents a dark and disturbing image of a soldier suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after conflict.
The poem explores the events in a soldiers life which in turn trigger PTSD, it's worth nothing the memory hurst him more than the event itself.