Chainsaw versus the Pampas grass - Simon Armitage

Question 1

Title

Answer 1

the battle between machinery and nature

Question 2

‘It seemed an unlikely match.’

Answer 2

the extended metaphor of battle

Question 3

‘hook in the darkroom’

Answer 3

assonance conveys that the chainsaw is waiting for action

Question 4

‘juices ran from its joints and threads’

Answer 4

• alliteration emphasis, the masculine act
• stereotypical qualities, of a male

Question 5

‘oozed across the guide-bar and the maker’s name, into the dry links.’

Answer 5

The stanza gives the chainsaw a monster-like feel to it - men in a pub imagery

Question 6

‘From the summerhouse’

Answer 6

connotations of peace and tranquillity

Question 7

‘weightless wreckage of wasps and flies,’

Answer 7

Alliteration develops imagery of death

Question 8

‘day-glo orange power line’

Answer 8

assonance, suggests the mundane process for dramatic effect

Question 9

‘fed it out like powder from a keg’

Answer 9

simile conveys imminent danger

Question 10

‘the rush of metal lashing out’

Answer 10

violence describing a mundane task

Question 11

‘cloth, or jewellery, or hair.’

Answer 11

comparing pampas grass with women - battle between sexes

Question 12

‘bloody desire’

Answer 12

oxymoron, imagery of death and destruction in contrast with desire

Question 13

‘flesh of the face’

Answer 13

alliteration shows ruthlessness of chainsaw

Question 14

‘drumming’ ‘gargle’

Answer 14

sound imagery - the disgusting side of human nature

Question 15

‘The pampas grass with its ludicrous feathers’

Answer 15

reference to femininity and excess contrasts to chainsaw

Question 16

‘stealing the show’

Answer 16

Theatre imagery - alliteration, that the pampas grass is selfish and the centre of attention

Question 17

‘footstools, cushions and tufts’

Answer 17

reflections of feminine beauty

Question 18

‘twelve-foot spears.’

Answer 18

highlights resilience

Question 19

‘sledgehammer taken to crack the nut.’

Answer 19

use of contrast and onomatopoeia, emphasises the unnecessary brutality of chainsaw

Question 20

‘– this was a game.’

Answer 20

caesura allows the reader to pause and reflect about how violent the scene is

Question 21

‘severed or felled or torn’

Answer 21

imagery of death and decay, violence of the chainsaw

Question 22

‘cut and raked, cut and raked’

Answer 22

persistence, repetition

Question 23

‘sliced or split’

Answer 23

sibilance - emphasises the usefulness of the machine and its owner against the pampas grass

Question 24

‘match -‘

Answer 24

caesura shows him watching his attempts fail

Question 25

‘for a minute more, and went out.’

Answer 25

alliteration conveys that the owner used more tools in one last attempt to destroy the pampas grass

Question 26

‘I left it at that.’

Answer 26

He had been defeated

Question 27

‘weeks’

Answer 27

time has been used to show a shift in narrative

Question 28

‘new shoots like asparagus tips’

Answer 28

simile - resembles vitality

Question 29

‘wearing a new crown.’

Answer 29

upper - class societal supremacy suggests how the speaker is bitter

Question 30

‘like the midday moon.’

Answer 30

simile - obsessive nature, shows his defeat

Question 31

‘man-made dreams,’

Answer 31

alliteration contrasts with the natural strength of the grass

Question 32

‘The seamless urge to persist was as far as it got.’

Answer 32

the pampas grass will always continue to grow

Question 33

Overall messages

Answer 33

• considers the power dynamic - female vs male, man-made world vs natural world
• considers the traditional form of masculinity to be violent, an ephemeral form of power
• mankind’s persistent and reckless attempts to reign over nature are failed and pointless
• stereotypes for each binary opposition can be misleading and isolating

Question 34

Notes

Answer 34

• extended personification of a man’s fight against pampas grass
• extended metaphor of a battle

Question 35

Structure

Answer 35

• 8 stanzas, irregular stanza length emphasises the anarchy of war
• no rhyme scheme