3.5 pages of notes analysing ‘Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass’ (Simon Armitage), from ‘Poems of the Decade’ for the A-Level Edexcel English Literature syllabus.
Quick Summary:
Form – varied structure, unpredictable rather than uniform (lack of control in chainsaw
and base instincts).
Language (see below)
Imagery – chainsaw is personified, is aggressive, sadistic, brutal force, uncontrolled
destruction (could represent the man’s alpha male side/repressed base instincts of
humans). Pampas grass is feminine, ostentatious, ludicrous. Presents this very mundane
event as a contest, initially seems obvious the chainsaw will succeed, yet the pampas
grass triumphs (perhaps a dramatization of man versus nature, contrast of brute force of
humanity with miraculous capabilities and regrowth of nature).
Rhyme/rhythm – not regular or lyrical (effeminate connotations, perhaps an attempt to
be ‘alpha male’)
Tone – the man is both a narrator of the fight between the chainsaw and pampas grass,
and also an active participant (chainsaw drives him on, desire to assert alpha male power,
thrill in this battle – showiness and contrived nonchalance in the detailed process of
preparing the chainsaw, virile thrill in powerful tools, violent verbs.)
Title and first line: “It seemed an unlikely match.”
• Sets out a clear cut power struggle/fight between the chainsaw and the grass
• Man-made machinery vs nature
• (Pampas grass given elevated status with a definite article ‘the’ which chainsaw
doesn’t have – specific plant in his garden, constant presence?)
• First line - tone is dramatic, perhaps hyperbolically so, and creates a sense of
finality.
• Draws on Biblical ideas of David and Goliath (in the end, the underdog triumphs
despite the power and aggression of the opponent)
• Ending: “The seamless urge to persist was as far as it got.” – man, chainsaw and
grass are united by their determination in this battle
Possible themes
• Gender stereotypes, alpha male (and asserting this) vs feminine
• Power struggle
• Aggression and destruction
• Thrill and enjoyment, almost sadistic
• Power of nature, relationship between man and nature
Form
Structure and sentence length are varied – unpredictable rather than uniform, reflects
lack of control in chainsaw and destruction. The use of free verse instead of a regular,
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