How Villainy is Depicted in 'Poem' by Simon Armitage

How Villainy is Depicted in 'Poem' by Simon Armitage

1. Slang

   • The word 'slippered' is used to describe the incident in which the character hits his daughter with a slipper
   • The word 'quid' is used in place of pounds when the poem describes the incident in which he steals from his mother
   • This is used to show how a person whose exterior seems normal and kind, can actually be someone who is very devious and cruel. Our first impressions of people do not give us an accurate idea of who they are.

2. Structure

   • All of the man's good deeds are described first for three lines, then on the fourth line, one of his villainous deeds is described.
   • This suggests how the first thing others notice about the character are the good deeds that he has done throughout his life.
     • However, it also shows that people still remember the bad things this man has done - but it seems that these people brush off these bad deeds as a result. Armitage could be pointing out that this is wrong because no matter how many good deeds a person does, it does not cancel out the bad things, These will weigh on one's conscience forever unless they can rectify it.
   • None of the sentences are in full, to make it feel like these things could be happening very close to home, as though actions such as these happen with ordinary, day to day people.

3. The final lines

   • The poem is a sonnet, and in traditional sonnets, the last two lines are left separate to the other stanzas. This is to increase their importance and to make the reader really think about those final words.

4. Compared to Macbeth

5. Severity of the actions

   • "And once, for laughing, punched her in the face"
   • "And slippered her the one time that she lied"
   • The character seems to take drastic action and resorts to violence even though the things that his wife and child have done seem small and insignificant. He attacks his wife for doing something as simple as laughing, and a normal person would not do such a thing, which suggests how villainous this character's action is.