Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass- Simon Armitage

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Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass- Simon Armitage

The poem begins by describing in detail how a chainsaw is prepared- it is taken from its hood, oiled and attached to a power chord. The speaker turns on the chainsaw, which comes powerfully to life. The chainsaw destroys the pampas grass easily. The speaker then sets fire to what is left of the grass. Soon, however, the pampas grass grows back and the chainsaw remains on its hook below the stairs.

Commentary- Typically Armitage, this poem uses a persona because it adopts the vibrant voice of someone we can consider, in varying degrees to be separate from Armitage himself. The speaker in the poem - drawn towards the power of the vividly described chainsaw- relishes the destruction of the pampas grass, but is made to look rather absurd as the pampas grass but is made to look rather absurd as the pampas grass simply grows back. The pride and relish of the speaker are shown to be wildly- and humorously- misplaced.

To add a dynamic depth to this persona, the poem adopts a conversational tone. The sentence length varies dramatically- note the interesting minor sentence in the fifth stanza - 'Overkill', which seems to reinforce the speaker's pride. there are also frequent examples of colloquial idioms and expressions, such as 'finish things off', 'stealing the show' and 'I left it a year', which often serve to amplify the speaker's pride.

This impression of a spoken voice is also reinforced by the irregular form. Armitage uses a relaxed free verse as he varies line and stanza length markedly. The poem's form also confirms the excess and power that the poem describes, and so it matched closely to the content. Like the chainsaw itself, the stanzas- with their 'perfect disregard' for regularity and frequent enjambment- are straining to break free.

This s not to say that the poem is without carefully crafted patterns. The sentence shortens towards the end of the poem, as the speaker and chainsaw shrink back from their folly. Note also the anaphora in the third stanza - 'and felt, and felt' - emphasising the fear and awe the speaker feels for the chainsaw's power. There is also an interesting syntactical patterning. To suggest the speaker's enthusiasm for the destruction, the clauses often begin with the subject 'I', followed by an -ed verb, especially in the fifth and sixth stanzas: ' I touched', 'I dabbed','I lifted', 'I ripped' and 'I raked'.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the poem, however, is its use of imagery. The personification of the chainsaw is clear: it is described as 'grinding its teeth'; it has a 'bloody desire' and a 'sweet tooth/ for the flesh of the face'. A madman, perhaps, or a violent animal. In contrast, the pampas grass is personified s lordly, clam, self-contained: 'sunning itself' and 'wearing a new crown'.

Chainsaw versus pampas grass is clearly, therefore a poem about power and conflict. The title alone confirms this. The violence of the chainsaw, the speaker's boastful pride, the pampas grass quiet acquiescence and subsequent victory. However, we could also read the poem as an exploration of the gender of masculinity and feminity.

We ascribed traditional male behaviour to the actions of the speaker and the chainsaw. As though it were drinking a pint of lager, the chainsaw metaphorically 'knocked back a quarter -pint of engine oil'. Even its dreams are 'man-made'. The speaker is also stereotypically masculine in his exaggerated relish at serving and tearing the grass in a metaphorical and destructive 'game'. The feminine natural grass, meanwhile, has 'feathers/ and plumes' and is described dismissively as having 'footstools, cushions and tufts'. The grass is also described in very feminine terms as having a 'dark, secret/ warmth' and can resist by closing and mending behind the blade, 'like cutting at water or air with a knife'. The pampas grass, of course, ultimately wins the battle and the speaker is described in the absurd awkward position of looking on 'from the upstairs window like the midday moon' - suggesting how tentative and out of place he has become.