chainsaw vs the pampas grass

Question 1

What are some quotations from the first stanza of CVPG that present the chainsaw as alive?

Answer 1

‘grinding its teeth’

‘swung nose down from a hook’ - chainsaw given agency and presented as out of control

‘knocked back a quarter-pint of engine oil’ - presented as rowdy and yobbish

Question 2

How does the first line of CVPG foreground the poem’s themes?

Answer 2

‘It seemed an unlikely match’ - foregrounds the idea of conflict of competition, man vs nature.

Question 3

‘fed it out like…[CVPG]

Answer 3

…powder from a keg’

Question 4

What is the AO2? ‘fed it out like powder from a keg’

Answer 4

Simile suggests the chainsaw’s capacity for violence.

Question 5

What verbs are used in CVPG to show how the chainsaw brings action?

Answer 5

‘walked back to the socket’, ‘flicked the switch’, ‘dropped the safety catch and gunned the trigger’ - multiple verbs show how the chainsaw brings action, energy and purpose, reiterated the chainsaw’s capacity for violence.

Question 6

What phrases are used to compare the chainsaw to a human being?

Answer 6

‘it’s bloody desire’, ‘it’s sweet tooth’, ‘it’s grand plan’ - repeated phrase ‘it’s’ presents the chainsaw as its own entity, listing presents the chainsaw as indiscriminate in its violence, increasing risk/danger.

Question 7

What quotations are used to describe the pampas grass?

Answer 7

‘it’s ludicrous feathers’, ‘sunning itself’, ‘it’s footstools, cushions and tufts’ - speaker sees the grass as over the top, flamboyant and vain, metaphorical images link the grass to domestic (and perhaps more feminine) world.

Question 8

What monosyllabic phrases are used in CVPG?

Answer 8

‘Overkill.’, ‘it didn’t exist’, ‘this was a game’ - minor sentence conveys the thrill the narrator gains, monosyllables mimic the easy destruction of the chainsaw, conveying the idea of finality (reiterated by punctuation).

Question 9

‘like cutting…[CVPG]

Answer 9

…at water or air with a knife’

Question 10

What is the AO2? ‘like cutting at water or air with a knife’

Answer 10

simile - the raw power of the chainsaw soon becomes futile.

Question 11

What quotations emphasise the triumph of the pampus grass?

Answer 11

‘riding high in its saddle, wearing a new crown’ - personification, grass had triumphed and won the battle for power

‘Corn in Egypt.’ - conveys sense of abundance, grass wins out in this almost holy battle

‘like the midday moon’ - simile, feels out of place and powerless