Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
Teachers
Pupils
New
New
Year 10
AQA

Analysing the Poem 'Remains'

I can explore how Armitage uses language and structure to explore the long-lasting trauma of war.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 10
AQA

Analysing the Poem 'Remains'

I can explore how Armitage uses language and structure to explore the long-lasting trauma of war.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Armitage uses language and structure to expose the traumatic events in war and the effects of conflict.
  2. Enjambment and caesura may reflect the soldier’s disturbed mind and lack of control over his emotions.
  3. Syntactic parallelism is used to demonstrate the soldier’s ongoing battle with his accountability.
  4. Imagery in lines 26-29 contrasts the distant warzone, highlighting the public’s false view of their separation from war.
  5. The present tense reflects the power of the past in the present.

Common misconception

Students may not initially notice the structural choices within the poem such as tense and enjambment.

Explain how language, structure, perspective and tense are always constructed meaningfully by the poet to match their purpose.

Keywords

  • Trauma - the emotional response to a deeply distressing or disturbing experience

  • Harrowing - extremely disturbing

  • Intrusive - causing disruption through being unwanted

Consider if your students would benefit from learning more about Armitage's documentary 'The Not Dead' to enhance their understanding of Armitage's message.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the AQA Power and Conflict Anthology for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of mental health issues

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

Skip video

Loading...

Starter quiz

Download starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the type of pronoun to the correct example.
Correct Answer:first person,I, me, my

I, me, my

Correct Answer:second person,you, your

you, your

Correct Answer:third person,he, she, they

he, she, they

Q2.
'Us' is an example of a collective pronoun. What impact could the pronoun 'us' have when used in a text?
puts the focus on a single person
Correct answer: puts the focus on multiple people
Correct answer: gives a sense of a shared experience
Q3.
Starting with the first, order the key points of 'Remains' in chronological order.
1 - A looter stealing from a bank runs away from the speaker.
2 - The speaker and his fellow soldiers shoot at the looter.
3 - The speaker describes the impact of the bullets and the looter dying.
4 - The soldier returns home but cannot forget the memory of the shooting.
5 - The speaker sees the death of the looter in his dreams.
Q4.
The way a poem is organised is also known as the ...
Correct Answer: structure
Q5.
The use of punctuation to pause in the middle of a line of poetry is called...
enjambment
Correct answer: caesura
volta
Q6.
The method where by one line of poetry continues on to the next is known as...
Correct answer: enjambment
blank verse
free verse
in medias res

Exit quiz

Download exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
The poem 'Remains' is written in which tense?
past
Correct answer: present
future
Q2.
In 'Remains' the use of enjambment and caesura may reflect...
Correct answer: the soldier’s disturbed mind.
Correct answer: the soldier's lack of control over his emotions.
the soldier's feelings about the distant warzone vs home.
Q3.
In 'Remains', what method is used to show the force of the intrusive thoughts the speaker experiences when he is back home, through the use of the word "bursts"?
hyperbole
enjambment
Correct answer: plosive alliteration
Q4.
At the start in 'Remains' the speaker sounds like he's telling an anecdotal story but by the end it is clear that he feels....
fear
Correct answer: guilt
nonchalance
Q5.
Causing disruption through being unwanted is known as being...
Correct Answer: intrusive
Q6.
Why might Armitage have written the poem 'Remains'?
to memorialise fallen soldiers
Correct answer: to expose the traumatic events in war
to criticise soldiers in war