Identify and Explain Key Quotations in the Poem 'Remains' by Simon Armitage

For this activity, you will need to turn to the poem 'Remains' by Simon Armitage, which can be found in your anthology.

'Remains' is about a soldier haunted by a violent memory.

This poem is written from the perspective of a soldier stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan (or any war zone really). He is on patrol with some other soldiers when they come across some bank robbers. One of the looters appears to have a gun, so they open fire. The rest of the poem concentrates on the fact that the soldier, even long after this event, cannot leave the memory behind and carries this dead man with him in his mind.

In the following questions, you will be asked about some key quotations from the poem.