'Give' by Simon Armitage

'Give' by Simon Armitage

1. STRUCTURE

   • CAESURA
     • "You give me tea. That's big of you"
       • Makes a dramatic pause. Gives listener time to feel good and then feel guilty when speaker says 'that's big of you'
   • CONTRASTS
     • 'You give me tea...I'm on my knees
       • Emphasises how different speaker's life is
   • RHYME
     • rhyming couplet at start gives light-hearted feel but no set rhyme scheme - shows his life is unpredicatable? Or that he doesn't quite fit in?
   • Dramatic monologue

2. LANGUAGE

   • Direct address - personal
   • Ironic tone
     • "dear"
     • "That's big of you"
   • Biblical imagery
     • "Frankincense" / "myrrh"
       • Jesus was born with nothing, just like the speaker has nothing
   • Lexical field of 'riches'
   • Command verb in title
   • Pun
     • "just change"
       • double meaning of asking you to change your attitude and to give coins

3. THEMES

   • identity - loss of identity
   • being treated differently
   • fear of being judged

4. IDEAS

   • could be a love poem?
   • moral message?

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