Anna Kilasonia
How does Simon Armitage use imagery to relate to guilt, trauma, and
sorrowfulness?
Simon Armitage uses imagery that relates to guilt and sorrowfulness to explore grief
in the two poems, the Parting shot and Remains. In Parting shot for example the soldier
has survivor's guilt which relates to him having grief for his friend who died in the
battlefield, he also goes to his dead friend's funeral which obviously shows he is mourning
over his dead friend. In Remains the soldier kills someone during duty and feels guilty
about it, in the poem he explains his grief over the person he had murdered.
In remains Simon Armitage uses imagery that relates to guilt and sorrowfulness to
explore grief. In the poem the quote: "His blood-shadow stays on the street I walk over it
week after week” Simon Armitage uses sibilance in the, to continue the disturbing image
that is imprinted into his memory, this quote shows that he feels guilty and grieves over
the body because he is still haunted by the memory of murdering someone. The metaphor
“blood-shadow” is a symbol of guilt, shadows always follow you around, suggesting that
the guilt never leaves him. Shadows are also dark, caused by a blocking of light,
highlighting how the soldier is now in mental “darkness” and has lost all light and hope
from his life. "He's here in my head when I close my eyes", this quote also shows that he
can still see the vivid image of him taking someone’s life. In the poem it also says that he
uses drugs to help him get over his grief and guilt. The soldier feels guilty because it is a
moral emotion that occurs when a person realizes that they can't forgive themselves for
what they have done, in this case the soldier can’t forgive himself for taking someone
else's life. Grief is a natural response to loss even though the soldier doesn't know the
person he killed, he knows that that person could've been someone's son, someone's
husband etc.
How does Simon Armitage use imagery to relate to guilt, trauma, and
sorrowfulness?
Simon Armitage uses imagery that relates to guilt and sorrowfulness to explore grief
in the two poems, the Parting shot and Remains. In Parting shot for example the soldier
has survivor's guilt which relates to him having grief for his friend who died in the
battlefield, he also goes to his dead friend's funeral which obviously shows he is mourning
over his dead friend. In Remains the soldier kills someone during duty and feels guilty
about it, in the poem he explains his grief over the person he had murdered.
In remains Simon Armitage uses imagery that relates to guilt and sorrowfulness to
explore grief. In the poem the quote: "His blood-shadow stays on the street I walk over it
week after week” Simon Armitage uses sibilance in the, to continue the disturbing image
that is imprinted into his memory, this quote shows that he feels guilty and grieves over
the body because he is still haunted by the memory of murdering someone. The metaphor
“blood-shadow” is a symbol of guilt, shadows always follow you around, suggesting that
the guilt never leaves him. Shadows are also dark, caused by a blocking of light,
highlighting how the soldier is now in mental “darkness” and has lost all light and hope
from his life. "He's here in my head when I close my eyes", this quote also shows that he
can still see the vivid image of him taking someone’s life. In the poem it also says that he
uses drugs to help him get over his grief and guilt. The soldier feels guilty because it is a
moral emotion that occurs when a person realizes that they can't forgive themselves for
what they have done, in this case the soldier can’t forgive himself for taking someone
else's life. Grief is a natural response to loss even though the soldier doesn't know the
person he killed, he knows that that person could've been someone's son, someone's
husband etc.
