GCSEEnglish LiteratureAQAExam Questions4. The Poetry AnthologyPower & Conflict

Power & Conflict (AQA GCSE English Literature): Exam Questions

Exam code: 8702

13 hours286 questions

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Power & Conflict

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11 mark

Who narrates Remains?

  • a civilian watching a shooting

  • a soldier recalling an incident on duty

  • a journalist reporting on war

  • an officer giving an order in battle

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21 mark

What incident does the soldier describe?

  • a looting during a riot

  • a roadside bomb exploding

  • the shooting of a looter during patrol

  • a prisoner escaping from camp

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31 mark

What phrase describes the looter after being shot?

  • a body left slumped against the wall

  • sort of inside out

  • eyes wide open

  • crumpled on the ground

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41 mark

What memory of the dead man returns to the soldier later?

  • his smile

  •  his blood in the sand

  • his friends calling his name

  • his uniform badge

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51 mark

What effect does the casual phrase “end of story, except not really” create?

  • It shows the soldier tries to sound casual but is unsettled.

  • It shows the incident was exaggerated in newspapers.

  • It shows his officer forced him to stay silent.

  • It shows the shooting ended the war for his unit.

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61 mark

What does the soldier do when he returns home?

  • He forgets the incident.

  • He uses drink and drugs to block it out.

  • He reports it to the newspapers.

  • He tells the officer immediately.

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71 mark

How does the phrase “blood-shadow” function?

  • as a metaphor for the stain of guilt

  • as a literal description of sunset

  • as a symbol of loyalty to comrades

  • as a joke told by soldiers

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81 mark

What is suggested by the phrase “probably armed, possibly not”?

  • The soldier is certain the looter carried a weapon.

  • The soldier knows the looter was definitely innocent.

  • The soldier feels doubt and guilt about the shooting.

  • The soldier is proud of how accurate his aim was.

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91 mark

How does the poem show the soldier is traumatised?

  • by repeating phrases and images that won’t go away

  • by describing panic attacks and breathlessness

  • by showing avoidance of crowds and loud noises

  • by showing him laugh about the incident

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101 mark

What is the central theme of Remains?

  •  the bravery of soldiers in battle

  • the trauma and guilt of killing in war

  • the strategy of modern warfare

  • the violence of war on the battlefield

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11 mark

Why does Armitage use colloquial phrases such as “legs it” and “tosses his guts”?

  • to glorify the soldier’s bravery and create excitement in the reader

  • to make the voice sound casual and authentic, and to reflect real soldiers’ speech

  • to distract the reader with informal language, and to lessen the emotional weight

  • to show the narrator’s immaturity and to make the event sound unimportant

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21 mark

How does the final couplet contribute to the overall message of the poem?

  • It suggests the soldier has accepted guilt and begun to heal from the trauma.

  • It shows that responsibility and pain have merged, creating permanent unrest.

  • It provides closure and distance between the soldier and his past actions.

  • It shows that guilt remains and the speaker cannot move on.

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31 mark

What effect does starting the poem with “On another occasion” create?

  • It makes the violence sound routine and detached, and heightens its horror.

  • It shows the speaker’s memory is fading and confused, and therefore unreliable.

  • It hints at repetition and weariness, and invites the reader to feel pity.

  • It suggests a fresh start and excitement, and contrasts with later guilt.

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41 mark

How does Armitage present the impact of war on memory in “Remains”?

  • He shows how time distances the soldier from guilt, and restores peace in his thinking. 

  • He shows how the memory intrudes repeatedly, and erases the boundary between past and present.

  • He shows how the memory fades slowly, and loses emotional significance and relevance.

  • He shows how the soldier shares the story openly, and releases his distress in these retellings.

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51 mark

Which techniques best convey the soldier’s psychological fragmentation?

  • alliteration and rhyme, reinforcing musical control

  • enjambment and caesura, mirroring broken rhythm and thought

  • imagery and metaphor, heightening the vivid descriptions

  • repetition and refrain, structuring the poem into pattern and unity

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61 mark

How does Armitage’s use of form reinforce the poem’s themes of guilt and repetition?

  • The tight metre and rhyme show control and the soldier’s discipline.

  • The stanza breaks and uneven rhythm mirror instability and guilt.

  • The free verse and shifting pace echo circular thought and unending trauma.

  • The alternating rhyme and repetition reveal the pattern of military command.

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11 mark

How do Remains and Bayonet Charge show the breakdown of moral order in war?

  • Both poems suggest discipline keeps control, showing soldiers holding on to order in chaos.

  • Both show instinct taking over from thought, as broken lines and rushed rhythm mirror panic and loss of control.

  • In Remains, the speaker sounds casual to hide guilt, while in Bayonet Charge, the soldier realises war’s pointlessness.

  • Both use fast, confusing language to show fear, but still suggest soldiers find purpose in following orders.

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21 mark

How do Remains and War Photographer show the psychological effects of witnessing suffering?

  • Both poets use careful structure to suggest calm reflection on horror.

  • Remains uses free-verse confession, while War Photographer uses regular stanzas and ordered imagery to control trauma.

  • Both show witnesses trapped between numbness and memory, with repeated images and phrases echoing trauma.

  • Remains uses slang to hide emotion, while War Photographer turns pain into artistic success.

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31 mark

How do Remains and Bayonet Charge show how war dehumanises soldiers, and what do their body images reveal about what’s left of identity?

  • Both show war creating unity, with the body symbolising courage.

  •  Remains focuses on guilt, while Bayonet Charge uses movement and nature to show chaos.

  • Both reduce the soldier to a machine — “three of a kind,” “molten iron” — removing all humanity.

  • Both show the body becoming mechanical, but feelings like guilt or fear remain and stop total loss of humanity.

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