1. Poetry Across Time: Character and voice
The Clown Punk
Driving home through the shonky side of town,
three times out of then you’ll see the town clown
like a basket of washing that got up
and walked, towing a dog on a rope. But
don’t laugh: every pixel of that man’s skin
is shot through with indelible ink;
as he steps out at the traffic lights,
think what he’ll look like in thirty years’ time –
the deflated face and shrunken scalp
still daubed with the sad tattoos of high punk.
you kids in the back seat who wince and scream
when he slathers his daft mush on the windscreen,
remember the clown punk with his dyed brain,
then picture the windscreen wipers, and let it rain.
Key
Language: connotation, imagery, metaphor, simile
Structure and form: stanzas, type, patterns, contrast, juxtaposition
Poetic methods: alliteration, caesura, assonance, rhythm, rhyme
Character and voice: who is speaking and to whom? Tone of voice
Links: comparisons to other speakers, methods and themes
Oxymoron used to show how people
see him as a ridiculous figure.
Alliteration and sibilance –
emphasises menacing area.
Assonance/rhyme
emphasises how
they seem him as a
joke and something
amusing.
Simile implies that he
is dressed
eccentrically and to
them looks unkempt
and dishevelled.
Imperatives have the
tone of a lesson – he
serves as a reminder
and example of how not
to behave/dress
according to parents.
Highlights the
permanency of the
decisions made in
youth.
Mirrors deflated
ideals and ambitions
or dreams he once
had.
Reflects the
clouded judgment
of the ‘punk’ and
ridicules his
decisions –
metaphor.
As the rain washes
the suds away, so
too has the
significance and
worth of the punk
diminished when
people judge him.
Interpretations of the poem:
A comment on the prejudice in society.
A portrayal of a piteous and lonely man,
A lesson about how your decisions in life affect you.
