Interpretations

Word cloud of keywords and phrases from the poem Remains

Interpreting and analysing a poem is not necessarily a matter of finding the right answer.

Poems are complex creations and are open to many different interpretations. Your is as valid as anyone else's - as long as you can back it up with suitable evidence from the text.

Remember to avoid simply identifying what techniques or approaches poets use. Aim to show an understanding of how form, language and structure create meanings and effects.

Below are some differing interpretations of the poem. How would you interpret the poem?

Examples

Interpretation of the lines: ‘Well myself and somebody else and somebody else/ are all of the same mind,’

Interpretation	Reason for interpretation
The soldiers are nameless and in many ways identical.	The use of ‘somebody else’ suggests that these could be any men, as if the soldiers are as disposable as the looter they have killed. The lack of names makes them anonymous and perhaps suggests that this is the way they are regarded by others.
The soldiers work under orders and do as they are told, as if they have been programmed to behave in this way.	The phrase ‘are all of the same mind’ shows that they respond to the looter in the same way. This suggests that they have been trained, and their act of opening fire is one that is programmed into them. They do not behave as individuals.

Interpretation	The soldiers are nameless and in many ways identical.
Reason for interpretation	The use of ‘somebody else’ suggests that these could be any men, as if the soldiers are as disposable as the looter they have killed. The lack of names makes them anonymous and perhaps suggests that this is the way they are regarded by others.

Interpretation	The soldiers work under orders and do as they are told, as if they have been programmed to behave in this way.
Reason for interpretation	The phrase ‘are all of the same mind’ shows that they respond to the looter in the same way. This suggests that they have been trained, and their act of opening fire is one that is programmed into them. They do not behave as individuals.

Interpretation of the lines: ‘One of my mates goes by/ and tosses his guts back into his body’

Interpretation	Reason for interpretation
The soldiers are bonded through their experiences.	The colloquial term ‘mate’ suggests friendship and a mutual understanding between the soldiers of the brutal reality they've faced together out at war.
The soldiers have a disregard for human life.	The word ‘tosses’ implies a carelessness, as if the looter’s life is worthless.

Interpretation	The soldiers are bonded through their experiences.
Reason for interpretation	The colloquial term ‘mate’ suggests friendship and a mutual understanding between the soldiers of the brutal reality they've faced together out at war.

Interpretation	The soldiers have a disregard for human life.
Reason for interpretation	The word ‘tosses’ implies a carelessness, as if the looter’s life is worthless.

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Remains by Simon Armitage - AQAInterpretations