AQA A Level English Literature Poems of the Decade essay. I got 3 A*s at A-Level, 11A*/9/8 at GCSE, and I am currently studying History at the University of Cambridge. My A-Level notes really helped me to do well in my exams and I hope you will find them useful too! Each page of notes picks out th...
Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass - Simon Armitage
Stanza Quotation Theme Analysis Device
/Line
Title ‘Chainsaw’ Has connotations of extreme
violence. Phallic imagery -
represents men
Title ‘Pampas Grass’ Sibilance makes you think of wind
going through grass. Soft and
feminine. Traditionally from South
Africa - however it is unclear where
this poem is set. However pampas
grass in gardens is apparently a
secret signal that you are a
swinger.
Title ‘Versus’ Connotations of a fight or ‘match’.
Conflict and aggression
1/1 ‘It seemed’ The word ‘it’ is not clear so creates
mystery. The verb ‘seemed’ is
important as it implies that the
narrator has spent time thinking
about it and is writing in hindsight.
1/1 ‘unlikely match’ Three connotations. Links back to
the theme of violence (esp in the
Title). Could also be romantic or be
about fire.
1/1 ‘winter’ Bleak and miserable
1/1 ‘unplugged’ Narrator’s Dependent relationship between
relationship the chainsaw and the narrator
1/2 ‘grinding its teeth Anger Sounds like the motor running - it Onomatoepo
in a plastic sleeve’ is angry. Anthropomorphism eia
makes the chainsaw seem more Anthropomor
scary. Could also be sexual phism
frustration. Metaphor
‘Grinding’ is sex and ‘plastic sleeve’
could be a metaphor for a condom
1/2 ‘swung’ Links to the anthropomorphism -
the chainsaw has a mind of its
own.
1/3 ‘nose’ Anthropomorphism.
1/3 ‘hook’ Further adds to semantic field of
fight related violence.
1/3 ‘darkroom’ Ominous
1/4 ‘under the hatch’ Like a prisoner that must be kept
under control. Perhaps a reference
to Evil Dead 2 or other horror films
, Armitage may have watched. The
‘darkroom’ could also be a
metaphor for the subconscious.
1 Enjambment sounds like a
chainsaw running
1/4 ‘When offered’ Deference to the chainsaw - could
be narrator’s fear of the machine.
Alternatively, could be a sacrifice.
1/ 4-5 ‘can’ Masculine - like a man downing a
‘quarter-pint of beer in a pub. Enjambment and
engine oil’ lack of commas show how there is
no hesitation - shows how the
chainsaw is ruthless and merciless.
Anticipates the violence that is to
come because of how drunk men
become violent.
1/5 ‘knocked back’ Violence and sex
1/6 ‘juices ran’ Could be sexual or could show how
the chainsaw cannot be restrained.
Enjambment to show how it flows.
1/6 ‘joints and threads’ Frankenstein
1/7 ‘maker’s name’ Could be God - links to the
deference theme.
2/1 ‘From the Narrator’s viewpoint. A
summerhouse’ ‘summerhouse’ could represent
privilege.
2/3 ‘weightless Alliteration looks like the teeth of
wreckage of wasps’ the chainsaw on the page.
2/5 ‘day-glo orange’ Radioactive - dangerous
2/7 ‘powder from a Explosive. Power or an orgasm
keg’
2/8 ‘socket’ and Could represent female and male
‘switch’ genitals
2 Enjambment enacts the long
length of cord going down the
garden.
2/9 ‘coupled’ Theme of male and female
relationships
2/10 - ‘instant rage’ The one line sentence at the end of
3/1 a long sentence is powerful and
shows the chainsaw’s ‘instant
rage’. Double pause builds tension
3/1 ‘instant rage’ Male impatience. Could also enact
how drunk men become angry
quickly.
3/4 ‘tangle’ Sexual
3/4 ‘cloth, or jewellery, Feminine. Links back to the title -
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