Chainsaw versus the pampas grass Flashcards
“It seemed an unlikely match.”
Short, emphatic sentence that introduces the idea of conflict
–> match also in the idea of a romantic match with the chainsaw pairing up with man to destroy nature which could highlight men’s lust for violence
“Knocked back a quarter-pint of engine oil and juices ran from its joints.”
Personifies chainsaw to allude to alcoholism and intoxication which could acts as a symbol for the working class
–> chainsaw wants to overcome the upper class pampas
“weightless wreckage of wasps and flies”
Alliterative “W” resembles the sound of revving up of machinery. The chainsaw is threatening, foreshadowing the destruction of the grass as it did the insects.
“Like powder from a keg.”
Possible allusion to Guy Fawkes, a working class man, who attempted to blow up the parliament which is similar to what the man tries to do yet ultimately Guy Fawkes proved unsuccessful so Armitage is foreshadowing the same futile future
“The chainsaw with its perfect disregard, its mood to tangle with cloth, or jewellery, or hair.”
Even before the chainsaw has gotten to its main victim, there are casualties –> links to the wider theme of war and even colonialism
–> list describes stereotypically feminine attributes - violence against women
“The chainsaw with its bloody desire, its sweet tooth for the flesh of the face and the bones underneath and its grand plan to kick back against nail or knot.”
Violent imagery - shows the calculating, precise desires of the chainsaw. Its not actually drunk or in a hazy blur, but coherent and simply uses drinking as an excuse like how conquers use
“Knot” could allude to the marriage knot. Chainsaws desire to destroy it highlights mens disrespect to women and the colloquial language highlights the lack of sanctity the marriage bond holds. In this way the garden in the poem could parrallel the garden of eden with the “ludicrous” pampass grass representing temptation –> The chainsaw, a powerful and violent tool, could symbolize human fallibility—our inclination toward dominance, destruction, and recklessness in the face of temptation
“I let it flare, lifted into the sun”
Instead of marriage being holy, it is the chainsaw who is being lifted up and revered in an almost mock romantic way, glorifying the violence of hegemonic men
–> the chainsaw is violent, sadistic and morally depraved
“The Pampas grass with its ludicrous feathers”
Note the syntactic parallel in line five of the previous stanza with the first line of this stanza — “the chainsaw with its bloody desires” -they are antithetical symbols of each other.
“Overkill.”
Caesura - cutting the reader. Short, erratic, energetic scentance exemplifies the excess power used.
Garden is used to explore the ridiculous nature of human reaction
“wanting to finish things off..”
Volta - mans desire to persist in completely finishing the job is his downfall.
“I looked on from the upstairs window like the midday moon.”
Speaker initially identified with the sun and now he is the moon - he has been usurped
Creates a comical image - Armitage uses many characteristics of mock - heroic poetry, in which deliberately mundane events are described in the elevated style of classical epic poetry. The effects are nearly always humorous and satirical
“Corn in Egypt.”
Refers to the 7 years of famine then abundance - illustrates natures power
–> Leaves on a hopeful note
“I left it a year, to work back through its man made dreams”
Personifies the chainsaw and uses hypallage
