Remains by Simon Armitage

Part of the AQA Poetry Anthology, Power and Conflict

Analyse the poem “Remains” by Simon Armitage to understand the use of form, structure and poetic devices and how these relate to the underlying themes within the poem.

We’ve captured all of the points below in our PDF guide which you can download below.

Where to start

Analysing poetry can be a little daunting at first, and you may need to read it a few times before you understand what the poet is trying to say.  Don’t worry though, you will soon get used to it and start to understand how to approach analysing a poem.

It’s important that you use the version of the poem from your anthology when doing your analysis.  The layout of some poems can differ from publication to publication (particularly over the internet) –  perhaps some words will have been changed or the stanzas may be set out differently.  This can affect the analysis.  So, always work from the version set out in your anthology as this is how the poem will be laid out in your exam.

When analysing the poem try to do a little research on the poet themselves.  It is not strictly necessary but understanding a little about them and their background can provide some helpful context to the poem which can be useful in your analysis.

About the poet - Robert Browning

  • Armitage was born in Huddersfield in 1963.
  • He worked as Professor of Poetry at both Oxford and Leeds Universities and was appointed Poet Laureate in 2019, a title which he still holds at the time of writing (2026). 
  • As Poet Laureate, he is a national ambassador for poetry and literacy. He teaches in Universities not just in the UK but in the USA too.
  • Armitage is not just a poet, but is also a playwright and novelist.
  • He is known for his conversational style which focusses on modern life, conflict, and the experiences of ordinary people.

  • Before becoming a full‑time writer, he worked as a probation officer. His experiences in this role influenced his understanding of trauma, crime, and human behaviour.

By Paul Hudson from United Kingdom - Krankenhaus: Simon Armitage, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122379397

Robert Browning. (2023, June 4). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Browning

Download a clean copy of ‘Remains’ by Simon Armitage using the button opposite.  Use this to mark up with your own notes using the analysis below.

Download poem

Background to the poem

By DVIDSHUB - Iraqi army battalion trains for urban operations [Image 2 of 3], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22426986
  • Armitage wrote the poem in 2008 and it was published as part of his series “The Not Dead”.
  • “The Not Dead” collection explores the long-lasting effects of war and how it affects the ability of the soldier to return to normal life.
  • Armitage’s time spent as a probation officer created an interest in the psychological impacts of violence.
  • “The Not Dead” collection aired on Channel 4 as part of a documentary film.
  • Remains, is based on real experiences of a Guardsman who served in the Iraq war.

What is the poem about?

  • The poem focuses on a specific event Guardsman Tromans experienced during his time in Iraq.
  • He and his comrades were ordered to clear looters from a bank. As part of this, a looter was shot and killed.
  • This is the first time Tromans had ever killed anyone, and the poem outlines the effect it had on him.
  • The poem is written as a narrative, as if Guardsman Tromans is telling the story of what happened.
  • The start is casual, laddish, and shows an effort to distance himself from the shooting.
  • By the end, there is a clear change in tone, showing how the event affected his mental health.
  • There are references to substance abuse and crime, and a focus on how his mental health suffered.
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Photo by PDPics on Pixabay

So now we know that the poem is about let’s see what poetic devices Armitage uses.

Form and Structure

The poem is written as a dramatic monologue which means it is written in a narrative format from the perspective of Guardsman Tromans.

It portrays his version of events and is set up as a conversation, perhaps a conversation that he may have had with a therapist as he tried to process and accept what happened. 

The narrative style combines an assortment of past participles (like “legs it”, “are”, “tosses”) which gives the impression that it is happening now, creating a sense of urgency/emergency.

Image by stayerimpact from Pixabay

  • The poem has eight stanzas. The first seven have four lines, but the last one has just two. This gives an abrupt and dramatic ending, leaving the reader feeling like it’s unfinished. This symbolises Tromans struggles as he tries to live with what happened.
  • There is no regular rhyme scheme of line length – which fits with the dramatic monologue style, it is a conversation, not practiced, rehearsed or structured.
  • The use of colloquial language means you can hear the soldiers voice as you read it.
  •  The poem starts mid-conversation: “On another occasion,” This makes the reader feel uneasy, as though they’ve missed something. This symbolises how soldiers feel in a war zone.
  • The second stanza contains a lot of repetition, “somebody else” and “three”. This emphasises how it wasn’t just Tromans involved in the incident. Could be seen as an attempt to unburden himself of at least some of the responsibility.
  • Repetition continues throughout the poem but towards the end becomes more focused on Tromans himself, with the use of “I” and ‘week after week’. This shows his continual struggle to accept what happened and take responsibility for his part in it.
  • The line describing the shooting itself is enjambed. The line doesn’t just continue across a line, but across a stanza. This emphasises the importance of the event and the significant effect it had on him. It reads like a garbled tale he is rushing to tell and can’t stop. As if saying it will help him accept it.
  • Armitage uses caesura when Tromans goes home; “Then I’m home on leave”. The sentence finishes mid-line. Perhaps an attempt for Tromans to reset and start again now he’s home?
By Alexander Williamson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexanderwilliamson/3768056245/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48866290

By Alexander Williamson – https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexanderwilliamson/3768056245/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48866290

Use of language

  • The language used in the first stanza is very casual – like a friend telling another friend a story. This changes after the shooting – becoming more graphic; ‘rips through his body’ ‘image of agony’ ‘tosses his guts’. This contrast in language emphasises the impact the shooting had on Tromans. 
  •  At the same time, the descriptions try to trivialise the event; trying to minimise/normalise it: ‘sort of inside’ out’ ‘carted off in the back of a lorry’. It gives the impression that he doesn’t have the words to describe things accurately so he’s trying to liken it to things he knows; it’s left him stunned.
light-465350_1280

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

  • ‘carted off in the back of a lorry’ brings with it the image of a bin-lorry carrying away rubbish. This shows how Tromans trivialised the issue at the time; it was something that happened and wasn’t important.
  • The language towards the end of the poem changes; at the start he is casual – just chatting. But as he returns home the language becomes that of war ‘blood-shadow’, ‘out on patrol’ ‘bursts through the doors’ ‘torn apart by a dozen rounds’ ‘dug in behind enemy lines’. This shows that the battle only really began for Tromans when he returned home and tried to come to terms with what had happened.
  • ‘And the drink and drugs won’t flush him out’ – shows Tromans is trying to cleanse himself; he is trying to get rid of the memory of what happened. 
  • ‘sun-stunned’ ‘sand-smothered’ – the sibilance in this line gives it a harsh,sinister sound. It makes you really stop and think about it. Both of the hyphenated phrases contain a positive (sun, sand) and negative (stunned, smothered) word. This juxtaposition shows how everything that was good now has a negative connection.

Themes and comparisons

If you’re presented with this poem in the exam you will be asked to compare it to one of the other poems from the anthology in some way. You may also decide to use it as the comparison poem.  To do this you need to think about the themes that are presented in the poem and which other poems in the anthology have similar themes.  We’ve summarised these briefly below.

War and Conflict

The poem portrays the real and after-effects of war and conflict.

Compare to:

  1. Charge of the Light Brigade.
  2. Exposure.
  3. Storm on the Island.
  4. Bayonet Charge.
  5. Poppies.
  6. War Photographer.
  7. Kamikaze.

Memory and loss

Following discharge the memory of the incident impacts Tromans life and has a detrimental impact on his mental health.

Compare to:

  1. Ozymandias
  2. My Last Duchess.
  3. Tissue.
  4. The Emigree.
  5. Poppies.
  6. War Photographer.

Identity

Tromans experience a huge impact on his identity both during and following the
experience.

Compare to:

  1. My Last Duchess
  2. Checking out me History
  3. The Emigree
  4. Charge of the Light Brigade
  5. Poppies
  6. War Photographer
  7. Kamikaze.

What next?

We hope you’ve found this analysis useful, but please remember that we all interpret things differently.  Just because we’ve read it one way, does not that it can not have an alternative meaning.  Remember that when you’re reading it through – you could pick up on something totally different and that’s fine.  There is no right or wrong interpretation of a poem – as long as you can analyse and justify why the poem makes you feel a certain way then there are marks to be had in an exam.

We have prepared a PDF summary sheet containing all of the information on this page which you may find useful when revising. Use this when reading the poem again and make your own notes and highlights. You can download it by clicking on the link below.

Image by S K from Pixabay

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Good luck with your studies. 🙂

Other Resources

This is a list of resources we’ve found really useful as we’ve been researching.  Some of these are free, but some are paid resources.  Please note that we do not earn any commission if you choose to purchase using the links below. There’s also some more of our resources below for you to download.