Simon Armitage was born in 1963 in the village of Marsden, in. In the mouth of the homeless speaker, it’s clearly absurd for them to offer a circus performance for loose change. It’s not as if I’m holding out For silver-swallow swords, eat fire. Note how the chainsaw is described as knowing how to ‘tangle with cloth, or jewellery, or hair’, summoning up images of feminine beauty. Armitage uses the second person ‘you’ throughout. ‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does To You’ compares the life of the ordinary man with that of someone who has traveled the world and done things many people dream of doing. The poem describes a typical case of wanderlust, wanting to see different countries, meet new people and discover other cultures. Simon Armitage: Poems study guide contains a biography of Simon Armitage, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Is class also a theme in the poem?

‘Chainsaw versus the Pampas Grass’ first appeared in Armitage’s 2002 volume The Universal Home Doctor. The mention of money now rules out a close relationship between equals. But Armitage is careful not to emphasise one of these themes over another, and as a result themes of masculinity, environmentalism, colonisation, and class are all visible in the poem’s imagery and turns of phrase. Of all the public places, dear

The unusual tone of the poem highlights our own unsympathetic attitudes towards vulnerable homeless people.

It has been held in check for a year, ‘gritting its teeth’, but now, with a dose of dutch courage from its oil can, it rages against the Pampas Grass, which is stealing light from – suffocating even – the young bulbs and cuttings which are struggling to grow. The speaker sounds more sarcastic and defensive in the next stanza, arguing that they are not ‘holding out / for frankincense or myrrh, just change’. In this connection, ‘match’ is an interesting word in the first line. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. The suggestive statement from the poem’s speaker, ‘I ripped into pockets of dark, secret warmth’, suggests a sort of sexual conquest with the chainsaw as a stand-in phallus (we don’t mean a phallus you can stand in, like a walk-in bath). I’m on the street, under the stars. For gold-escape from locks and chains. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating https://schoolworkhelper.net/mother-any-distance-by-simon-armitage-analysis So isn’t it also ridiculous that we refuse or resent charity, believing that vulnerable people should work hard to earn, and be tamely grateful for, our meagre donation? These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Simon Armitage: Poems. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Simon Armitage: Poems. In summary, ‘Chainsaw versus the Pampas Grass’ is about a man (we assume the speaker is male) taking a chainsaw and cutting down the pampas grass of South America.

Armitage implies that people are unwilling to charitably donate even the smallest amounts of money; even for small change they expect something – and something substantial – in return. The chainsaw knows only how to destroy: it cannot create. The tension is an intriguing and disorientating start to the poem.