Both poems showcase the intense guilt and psychological impact that each speaker feels. However in Remains, this is through his memories whereas in War
photographer, it comes from the photos printed that are always there.
‘His bloody life in my bloody hands’ ‘A half-formed ghost’
-uses the blood as a symbol of the guilt that the soldier feels; the -powerful metaphor helps the reader to vividly imagine the
soldier metaphorically feels he has blood on his hands because he photograph slowly developing in a chemical solution in front of his
killed a person who could have been innocent. eyes, while the word ‘ghost’ implies that the photographer is being
psychologically haunted by the memory of this man and the terrible
-end the poem with this line because Armitage wanted to cries of the man’s wife - the photo brings alive the awful memories
demonstrate that the soldier cannot remove the image of the looter’s
blood from his mind, and that the guilt he feels for killing the looter -suggests that the photographer feels guilty because he was not
will stay with him, or metaphorically stain him, forever. able to do more to help this man or his wife - all he could do was
carry out his role by capturing the moment with a photograph for the
media.
‘Probably armed, possibly not’
-repetition of these words emphasise that this particular memory, of ‘Blood stained into foreign dust’
whether or not the looter is armed, is haunting him.
-metaphor presents how the images of war are not only imprinted
-If the looter was not armed, the soldier would not have needed to kill
into the speakers mind but on paper as well
him so he is plagued by a feeling of potential guilt
-he could have killed an innocent person, who posed no threat to him. -‘stained’ indicates a sense of permanence - images they saw can
never be removed and is haunted by them
-repetition of these words throughout the poem show that this memory
keeps ooding back into the soldier’s mind, even when he is home on ‘A hundred agonies in black and white’
leave.
-emphasises the pain and torment that the speakers gets from
seeing the photographs because they bring all the mental memories
Context of having to see people suffer and not do anything about it.
-Armitage interviewed soldiers from the Iraq war to research and write
the poem - many soldiers from wars come back home alive but with Structure
serious mental conditions such as PTSD which is seen in Remains
-use of enjambment portrays the torment that the speaker goes
whilst having to develop the photos
fl
photographer, it comes from the photos printed that are always there.
‘His bloody life in my bloody hands’ ‘A half-formed ghost’
-uses the blood as a symbol of the guilt that the soldier feels; the -powerful metaphor helps the reader to vividly imagine the
soldier metaphorically feels he has blood on his hands because he photograph slowly developing in a chemical solution in front of his
killed a person who could have been innocent. eyes, while the word ‘ghost’ implies that the photographer is being
psychologically haunted by the memory of this man and the terrible
-end the poem with this line because Armitage wanted to cries of the man’s wife - the photo brings alive the awful memories
demonstrate that the soldier cannot remove the image of the looter’s
blood from his mind, and that the guilt he feels for killing the looter -suggests that the photographer feels guilty because he was not
will stay with him, or metaphorically stain him, forever. able to do more to help this man or his wife - all he could do was
carry out his role by capturing the moment with a photograph for the
media.
‘Probably armed, possibly not’
-repetition of these words emphasise that this particular memory, of ‘Blood stained into foreign dust’
whether or not the looter is armed, is haunting him.
-metaphor presents how the images of war are not only imprinted
-If the looter was not armed, the soldier would not have needed to kill
into the speakers mind but on paper as well
him so he is plagued by a feeling of potential guilt
-he could have killed an innocent person, who posed no threat to him. -‘stained’ indicates a sense of permanence - images they saw can
never be removed and is haunted by them
-repetition of these words throughout the poem show that this memory
keeps ooding back into the soldier’s mind, even when he is home on ‘A hundred agonies in black and white’
leave.
-emphasises the pain and torment that the speakers gets from
seeing the photographs because they bring all the mental memories
Context of having to see people suffer and not do anything about it.
-Armitage interviewed soldiers from the Iraq war to research and write
the poem - many soldiers from wars come back home alive but with Structure
serious mental conditions such as PTSD which is seen in Remains
-use of enjambment portrays the torment that the speaker goes
whilst having to develop the photos
fl
