Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass and the Gun

Caitlin Millar

An essay comparing the way in which the poets Simon Armitage and Vicki Feaver present ideas about violence in Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass and The Gun

        I will be exploring the ways in which both of these poems show themes of violence through ideas of; opposing sides (in relation to some kind of war or argument), use of personified weapons and ideas of vicariously sadistic pleasure.

        In Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass we encounter themes of opposing sides which can be instantly derived from looking at the title; it shows the main theme of a violent battle between man (or the man-made) and nature. The pampas grass is personified as something ‘taking’ and ‘sunning’ and ‘stealing’ which implies the arrogant ease of nature and later on is described as having ‘twelve-foot spears’. This phrase is added at the very end of the stanza which is shorter than the ones before, this shows a distinct change of topic to nature, as the longer stanzas describe the man/man-made. The positioning at the end of the stanza shows the effortless power which nature possesses as it is added as a kind of smug comment with a vain tone to shows that it is ‘stealing’ and ‘sunning’ because it knows that it can, as it has the spears which are beyond any man-made product. The word ‘spear’ is also an old fashioned word showing the experience and timeless power nature possesses which portrays it as a violent threat. There are also underlining themes of man versus woman which is shown through his comment on the pampas grasses ‘ludicrous feathers’ showing the woman is viewed as the grass and the man is scornfully mocking her and her ‘feathers’ which could represent beauty as birds often have stunningly beautiful feathers with bold colours that could be viewed as ludicrous. This shows the man misjudging the female’s strength as they are both so stuck in their genders positions in society, which inevitably leads to conflict. In The Gun the opposing sides are shown as the man versus the animals. The man is said to have ‘a rabbit shot clean through the head’, the enjambment between shot and clean creates a dramatic pause and emphasises the juxtaposition of these two words. It also makes the phrase feel longer showing a king of pride and enthusiasm for the hunt and the challenge. It’s such a violent and vicious statement as it shows no emotion for the slaughter of this animal’s innocent life and is shown as simply a structural pivot before the adrenaline and the enjoyment of killing really kicks in.

        In Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass, the chainsaws perspective is prominent throughout and this is shown through the use of the verbs ‘grinding’, ’swung’, ’offered’, ’knocked back’, ‘ran’ and ‘oozed’ in the first stanza. These verbs show us the dynamic movements of the chainsaw as it is preparing for something which creates a tense atmosphere as we anticipate some kind of fight. They also sound like very masculine verbs which gives off a kind of danger when we consider the stereotypically violent nature of men. The man’s verbs tend to be timid; he is said to have ‘trailed’, ‘fed’, ‘walked’, ‘flicked’, ‘walked’, ‘coupled’ etc. This creates the impression that he is a slave to the machine possibly due to fear, which is further shown through the chainsaws ‘bloody desire’ which portrays it as a kind of psychopathic serial killer. It also can be seen as a barrier for the man as it is as though he is hiding behind this chainsaw to live out his violent and ‘seamless urge’ showing his cowardly characteristics as well as his victimisation due to societies unrealistic expectations of him as he seems to need this chainsaw to prove his masculinity. In The Gun we see the gun as ‘something dead itself’ creating an ironic and almost mocking tone as we later find out this is the machine that was used to kill the animals. It is described as ‘stretched out’ which is a similar use of verbs as the ones in Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass. The word ‘stretched’ has an onomatopoeic effect as it creates a long, painful sound due to the harsh ‘tch’ and the long ‘e’s, this has violent connotations as it is the way dead animals are hung and prepared. Personification is also used through the phrase ‘A gun brings a house alive’, which is presented in a one-line stanza creating a stark contrast between the others and showing it as a declarative statement in which the gun becomes the driving force behind this couple’s excitement.