Chainsaw Versus The Pampas Grass - Simon Armitage Flashcards
What is ‘Chainsaw Versus The Pampas Grass’ about? (4 points)
Deals with the fundamental theme of man versus the environment the chain-saw, a human invention and symbol of power and masculinity, battles with the natural world (pampas grass) and wins
Pampas grass is virtually ineradicable - speaker’s self-locking indicates awareness of this
The thrusting, posturing masculinity of powerful machinery — of which the poet seems rather nervous — ultimately loses, while the pampas grass has feminine-sounding ‘feathers’ and ‘plumes’ it also has phallic-looking stems and a tough root - the source of its victory.
The poem is distinctive in its tone, with largely, straightforward language, humour and the implication that the fierce chain-saw is bound to lose in the battle against nature
What is the form and structure of Chainsaw Versus The Pampas Grass? (3 points)
Eight irregular length stanzas with lines also of irregular length
No rhyme scheme or regular metre
Discrete stanzas without emjambment between them - gives a sense of opposition; two elements in clear conflict
What are the language and devices used in Chainsaw Versus The Pampas Grass? (5 points)
The voice is that of a narrator - we can assume the poet, using the first person singular pronoun ‘I’
The tone is wry, conveying outward ‘victory’ of the chain-saw, but the underlying sense that the speaker deep-down knows he will lose
The language is conversational, with some colloquialisms, such as ‘knocked back’ and ‘a good pull or shove’
Personification gives the chainsaw has its own masculine life e.g. ‘its perfect disregard, its mood … its bloody desire …“ etc.
The metaphorical femininity of the pampas grass is expressed in its ‘plumes’ and ‘feathers’
