Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass
Simon Armitage
The first line immediately establishes a sense of competition
between two things that are not evenly matched. This is proleptically
ironic as ultimately it is the eponymous pampas grass that prevails
(this subverts our initial expectations as the chainsaw is made to
It seemed an unlikely match. All winter unplugged, seem prepotent).
Personification: sense of frustrated aggression with verb
grinding its teeth in a plastic sleeve, the chainsaw swung
‘grinding’. The ‘plastic sleeve’ emphasises how the chainsaw is
repressed and subdued; this only exacerbates its frustration. A
nose-down from a hook in the darkroom Freudian critic might argue that this symbolises the repressed,
sexually driven, primitive urges of the id.
under the hatch in the floor. When offered the
This is another animalistic image (zoomorphism). It likens the chainsaw to a
can
dog/wolf, furthering the idea that it acts on primal instincts.
it knocked back a quarter-pint of engine oil This is reminiscent of excessive alcohol consumption, making the chainsaw
seem bullishly masculine, virile and macho.
and juices ran from its joints and threads,
The plural noun ‘juices’ has haematic associations, furthering the sense
of primitivity and uncivilization. It could also have erotic insinuations,
oozed across the guide-bar and the maker’s name,
linking to the Freudian reading of the poem. The verb ‘oozed’, with the
labial ‘oo’, connotes excess; the chainsaw’s violence and lust cannot be
into the dry links.
contained and is leaking out.
The repetition of the adjective ‘last’ suggests the chainsaw is looking back/reminiscing on a past event – aggrieved
about it. From a Freudian perspective, this represents the inability to expel unwanted memories of the subconscious.
The sense of ‘heat’ pervading the air symoblises the tainted, unclean nature of the human mind.
From the summerhouse, still holding one last gulp This is an image of death, decay and destruction. The ellipsis is
ominous, foreshadowing and insinuating the similar ruin the chainsaw
of last year’s heat behind its double doors, and will generate. Again, this is proleptically ironic, as it is ultimately the
chainsaw that is once again subdued and repressed. Post-colonial
hung reading: destruction has already arisen from actions of colonisers; more
to come.
with the weightless wreckage of wasps and flies,
Note the succession of active verbs linked by repeated conjunctions (a
mothballed in spider’s wool . . . device called polysyndeton). These verbs are dull and mundane – there
is little energy in the speaker compared to the uncontrollable rage of
from there, I trailed the day-glo orange power line the chainsaw. From a Freudian perspective, the speaker is the ego – the
mediator. The repetition of conjunctions makes the speaker’s actions
seem robotic and mechanical – not thinking/in control. Alternatively,
the length of the lawn and the garden path,
from a post-colonial perspective the chainsaw is the coloniser; the
speaker symbolises the passive/oppressed natives resignedly following
fed it out like powder from a keg, then walked
orders.
back to the socket and flicked the switch, then walked again Note the words in the lexical field of war and military conflict
– the reader anticipates an explosion or outburst. This works
and coupled the saw to the flex – clipped them together. well with the post-colonial reading, suggesting the colonisers
pillage and destroy the natives’ land with advanced
Then dropped the safety catch and gunned the trigger. technology. Alternatively, from a Freudian perspective this
prefigures the destruction caused by the lustful, anarchic id.
, No gearing up or getting to speed, just an instant rage, Negation emphasises sense of immediate rapaciousness, energy
and propensity for violence. The chainsaw is indiscriminate,
the rush of metal lashing out at air, connected to the with the personification ‘lashing out at air’ suggesting its
mindless, untethered violence. Post-colonial reading: the
mains.
colonisers resort to instead violence and military brute force
rather than proffering diplomatic negotiations. Alternatively,
The chainsaw with its perfect disregard, its mood
from a Freudian perspective this emphasises the id as an
anarchic, uncontrollable force that cannot be reasoned with – it
acts on immediate primal urges.
to tangle with cloth, or jewellery, or hair. ‘Cloth, jewellery, hair’ – defenceless, vulnerable items – from a
Freudian perspective, this symbolises the power of the id to attack
The chainsaw with its bloody desire, its sweet tooth defenceless things. Alternatively, from a post-colonial perspective this
emphasises the vulnerability and powerlessness of the natives in
for the flesh of the face and the bones underneath, comparison to the mechanised, brutal power of the colonisers.
‘Tangle’ is a verb of semantic multiplicity – it could be a euphemism
for rape/attack/violence, furthering the destructive, amoral
its grand plan to kick back against nail or knot
characteristics that the chainsaw embodies.
and rear up into the brain. ‘Bloody desire’: instinctive desire for immediate gratification (id). A ‘sweet tooth’ is
usually an innocent image; this is savagely destroyed by its heinous desire for ‘flesh’
I let it flare, lifted it into the sun and ‘bones’, conveying the chainsaw as sadistic and morally depraved.
and felt the hundred beats per second drumming in its heart,
For the post-colonial/political reading, the ‘grand plan’ can be linked to Hitler’s
and felt the drive-wheel gargle in its throat.
‘Final Solution’. This phrase suggests the destruction envisioned by the
Verb ‘let’ emphasises the speaker is easily chainsaw is pre-meditated and systematic – it is not caused spontaneously by
overpowered and rendered passive and complicit mere rage but is fully intentional, making the actions even more disturbing.
by the id (chainsaw). That he ‘lifted it into the sun’ The phrases ‘kick back’ and ‘rear up’ convey the uncontrollability of the
suggest it is holy and extolled by the speaker – he chainsaw: its dynamic energy cannot be restricted (link this to the power of the
lets it emerge rather than repressing it. From a id). The brain should be the centre of rationality and consciousness.
post-colonial reading, this can be related to the
pretext of bringing civilisation to the natives (light The hyperbolic description of the ‘hundred beats per
was often a symbol of this) & also the colonisers second’ and the ‘gargle’ furthers the idea that the chainsaw
revelling in their victory. is fuelled by primitive instincts. The verb ‘gargle’ makes it
seem unhinged, animalistic and savage, emphasising its
The pampas grass with its ludicrous feathers rapacious, insatiable appetite for destruction.
Note that the stanza introducing the pampas grass is shorter,
and plumes. The pampas grass, taking the warmth and light symbolising how the pampas grass/what it symbolises is
marginalised and rendered insignificant. Post-colonial
from cuttings and bulbs, sunning itself, reading: repression of natives. The derisive/pejorative
adjective ‘ludicrous’ perhaps represents the condescending
stealing the show with its footstools, cushions and tufts attitude of the colonisers towards the natives’ culture.
and its twelve-foot spears. The auxetic tricolon of the verbs ‘taking’, ‘sunning’ and ‘stealing’ conveys the bitter,
resentful attitude of the chainsaw at the hedonism of the pampas grass. Symbolises bitter
masculine force jealous of girlfriend. Alternatively, if read from a Freudian perspective it
could be the id resenting feminine tendencies. The metaphor of ‘twelve-foot spears’
prefigures the power reversal, emphasising the hidden power of the natives from a post-
colonial reading – also a literal spear of the natives.
This was the sledgehammer taken to crack the nut. Emphasises the superfluous, excessive and unnecessary force
of the chainsaw. This lends weight to the post-colonial
Probably all that was needed here was a good pull or shove reading – the colonisers would have employed advanced
technologies that could easily overcome the spears of the
or a pitchfork to lever it out at its base. natives. Emphasises disproportional level of violence.
