the chainsaw versus the pampas grass - simon armitage

Question 1

8 irregular stanzas

Answer 1

mimics the irregular power between men and women, humans and nature, working class and royalty

gives a sense of opposition

chainsaw given more coverage - shows arrogance and potential power

pampas grass given less coverage - quick to defeat the chainsaw

feels fragmented - cutting grass

nature fights back with irregularity - natural , no structure

Question 2

limited enjambment

Answer 2

gives us a sense of opposition

end stopped lines - human control

Question 3

title

Answer 3

‘versus’ immediately gives us an idea of conflict

men vs women

humanity vs nature

Question 4

‘it seemed an unlikely match’

Answer 4

‘match’ could relate to a battle or love, or even fire

shows inequality

short emphatic sentence

Question 5

‘all winter unplugged’

Answer 5

plants die in the winter - people die

not alive - needs power

a spark between two people for sexual chemistry

Question 6

‘grinding it’s teeth’

Answer 6

personification - joining forces to destroy nature

animalistic

angry - desperate to escape

harsh ‘t’ sounds create the effect of an engine, spitting with rage, strength

ready to attack - defensive nature of humanity

Question 7

‘darkroom’

Answer 7

dangerous

isolated

gothic connotations - monstrous chainsaw

Question 8

‘knocked back a quarter pint of engine oil’

Answer 8

alludes to alcohol - masculine trait

shows the force and power of the chainsaw - does it with ease

desperate to start destroying again

Question 9

‘still holding one last gulp from last year’s heat’

Answer 9

last of summer

not the first time

‘gulp’ indicates nervousness

foreshadows the battle

previously thought they could win

Question 10

‘weightless wreckage of wasps and flies, moth balled in spider’s wool’

Answer 10

alliterative ‘w’s - resembles the sound of revving up of machinery.

chainsaw is threatening, foreshadowing the destruction of the grass as it did the insects.

spiders are predators

fear, death and decay

Question 11

‘orange power line’

Answer 11

‘orange’ can be associated with caution or prison

intrusive colour - intruding on nature

Question 12

‘keg’

Answer 12

first bomb - waiting to go off

Question 13

‘gunned the trigger’

Answer 13

associated with guns

chainsaw becomes a metaphorical gun - abuse to nature is not far away from the abuse to humans

Question 14

‘instant rage’

Answer 14

only purpose

animalistic

personified

anger is stereotypically associated with men

Question 15

‘lashing out at air’

Answer 15

violence

angry for no reason

Question 16

‘perfect disregard’

Answer 16

oxymoron?

no mercy or anything - no feelings - royalty

Question 17

‘tangle with cloth or jewellery or hair’

Answer 17

feminine

all delicate objects

polysyndetic list

Question 18

‘flesh of the face and the bones underneath’

Answer 18

fricative alliteration

emphasises disregard

Question 19

‘kick back against’

Answer 19

rebel, destroy

allusion to the working class

Question 20

‘i let it flare, lifted it into the sun’

Answer 20

spatial deixis

glorified it - sun has positive connotations

cowboy gunfight at high noon

Question 21

‘hundred beats per minute drumming in it’s heart’

Answer 21

personification

destruction

sense of adrenaline

100 is associated with achievement and acomplishemrnt

Question 22

‘gargle’

Answer 22

excess

cacophonic

animalistic

Question 23

‘ludicrous feathers’

Answer 23

out of place - crazy/ unnecessary

silly

represent strength and fertility

Question 24

‘taking the warmth and light’

‘sunning itself’

Answer 24

euphonic

semantic field of light

feminine - edwardian lady

Question 25

'stealing the show with its footstool, cushions and tufts'

Answer 25

metaphor domestic imagery chremamorphism soft ,passive and gentle

Question 26

'twelve foot spears'

Answer 26

women can be strong dark side foreshadows victory fighting back

Question 27

'this was the sledgehammer taken to crack the nut'

Answer 27

excessive force over confidence ironic to a certain extent - lose in the end

Question 28

'all that was needed here was a good pull or shove'

Answer 28

one is clearly weaker confident

Question 29

'blur of the blade'

Answer 29

alliteration easily cutting

Question 30

' i dabbed at a stalk that swooned'

Answer 30

light force women - men charm

Question 31

'plant juice spat from the pipes and tubes'

Answer 31

retaliation personification mechanical tendencies

Question 32

' i ripped into pockets of dark, secret warmth'

Answer 32

inner power innate power erotic

Question 33

'flat stump the size of a manhole cover or barrel lid'

Answer 33

chainsaw has won man thinks he's won remove roots

Question 34

'wanting to finish things off i took up the saw and drove it vertically downwards into the upper root'

Answer 34

consolidating power doesn't want to admit defeat

Question 35

'but the blade became choked with soil or fouled with weeds'

Answer 35

volta nature regenerates fights back

Question 36

'cutting at water or air with a knife'

Answer 36

simile impossible

Question 37

'threw in a match - it flamed for a minute , smoked for a minute more, then went out'

Answer 37

didn't work nature is more powerful ineradicable

Question 38

'i left it at that'

Answer 38

given up admits defeat anti climax

Question 39

'new shoots like asparagus tips'

Answer 39

power of nature re generating

Question 40

'riding high in it's saddle, wearing a new crown'

Answer 40

power has shifted monarch - represents to monarchy

Question 41

'corn in egypt'

Answer 41

surprising and miraculous allegory corn that joseph stockpiles to enable the population to survive the famine

Question 42

'midday moon'

Answer 42

lacks relevance but is still there oxymoron

Question 43

'chainsaw seethed'

Answer 43

still angry ongoing battle

Question 44

'man made dreams'

Answer 44

violence in humanity

Question 45

headlines

Answer 45

attempts to defeat nature are futile machines vs nature the battle between man and nature masculinity versus femininity the working class versus the ruling class many of the battles in life are perpetual