Mr. O' Meara's Remains Padlet Board by https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly Remains by Simon Armitage - AO1 Implied Meaning, AO2 WAR analysis and AO3 Context en-us 2020-04-24 10:32:35 UTC 2023-02-10 23:56:42 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f603.png AO2 Form cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/528020294 FORM
Told as an anecdote
Monologue, no rhyme scheme, irregular stanzas fast paced
This resembles a stream of consciousness theory, which reveals post- traumatic stress disorder. Present and past mixed up
Also reflects the chaotic state of speaker’s mind.]]> 2020-04-24 10:47:16 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/528020294 cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/538232159   Remains by Simon Armitage ]]> 2020-04-29 06:36:51 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/538232159 AO1 Meaning - The Title cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611259963 The word ‘remains’ has several meanings: it is often used to refer to what is left of a human body after death – in this case, the brutally injured corpse of the looter. It could also refer to the guilt and remorse felt by the soldier which ‘remains’ long after the event and haunts his dreams every time he closes his eyes. Perhaps it also refers to the ‘remains’ of the soldier, suggesting that he is changed as a result of his experiences and is only a shell of the man he was before he went to war.]]> 2020-06-04 15:25:36 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611259963 ‘tosses his guts back into his body’ & ‘carted off in the back of a lorry.’ cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611264715
The verbs ‘toss’ and ‘cart’ suggest a complete lack of respect for the victim and perhaps a desensitisation to death for some of the soldiers. The description dehumanises the victim and portrays him almost like cattle being disposed of without dignity or care. Reflecting on the event, the speaker is filled with remorse that he didn’t feel at the time.]]> 2020-06-04 15:27:45 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611264715 'in some distant sun-stunned, sand-smothered land’ cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611272870 The use of sibilance and assonance in the lines ‘in some distant sun-stunned, sand-smothered land’ create a sharp hissing sound, perhaps hinting at the fact that the speaker is angry about being sent off to fight a war that he feels has little to do with him. The pair of compound adjectives, seemingly offered sarcastically, present an idealistic view of the war zones.]]> 2020-06-04 15:31:23 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611272870 AO3 Context - Why did Armitage want you to read this poem? cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611278614 ‘Remains’ is from a collection of poems called ‘The Not Dead’, which was written in 2007 for a TV documentary of the same name. It is a collection of modern war poems based on the experience of soldiers in recent conflicts. ‘Remains’ is based on the experiences of a soldier who served in Basra in Iraq. He suffered severe PTSD as a result of his experiences and the poem recalls one particular event where the soldier shot the looter of a bank and was left with horrendous flashbacks reliving the moment of the man’s death. He turned to drink, drugs and crime on his return to Britain and the poem focuses on his overwhelming feelings of guilt and his struggle to come to terms with his experience.]]> 2020-06-04 15:33:58 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611278614 Use of repetition cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611284223 The repetition of the line ‘probably armed, possibly not,’ portrays the speaker’s lingering doubts. He is tortured by the fact that the looter may not have been a threat and has great difficulty justifying the killing of a potentially unarmed man.]]> 2020-06-04 15:36:21 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611284223 AO2 Analysis Key ideas cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611287688
  • Colloquial language adds authenticity
  • Present tense makes the reader relive the events
  • Passive voice implies helplessness on the soldiers’ part
  • Graphic imagery relays the horror of war
  • A casual tone is implied when soldiers “toss” body parts away
  • Guilt is carried in the repetition of the line ‘probably armed, possibly not,’
  • Plosive ‘b’ sounds are emphatic and bold
  • Compound adjectives are used to spitefully mock an idealised version of war

    • ]]>     2020-06-04 15:37:51 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611287688     'End of story, except not really' cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611293153
    This shows that the unknown victim’s story has just ended as he has been killed; however the soldier’s story has just started. It is the turning point of the poem, as his post traumatic stress disorder will start to emerge.


    Note that this is turning point is, in terms of poetic device, called a volta, a pivot, after which the story changes direction.

    ]]>     2020-06-04 15:40:17 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611293153     'And the drink and the drugs won’t flush him out' cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611299181 The nightmares and haunting memories can’t be eradicated, so the soldier uses alcohol and drugs to ease the pain. Neither can he cure the unwanted flashbacks himself. He is mentally trapped. The verb ‘flush’ is generally associated with ridding of unwanted waste suggesting he is comparing the memory to excrement to emphasise his disgust of it.]]> 2020-06-04 15:43:00 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611299181 AO1 Themes you can include cilomee https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611303485 Themes:
    1) Guilt
    2) Violence
    3) Effects of conflict
    4) Memory
    5) Individual experience
    6) Horrors of war]]>     2020-06-04 15:44:59 UTC https://padlet.com/cilomee/PositiveVibesOnly/wish/611303485