The Blown Punk Poem Analysis

In both ‘The Horse Whisperer’ and ‘The Clown Punk’ the focal characters are no longer part of the community and have become outsiders due to the development of social perceptions of the activity they participate in. In Armitage’s poem the character is described as out of fashion and outcast, shown in the quote ‘the sad tattoos of high punk’. The poems voice comes from a narrator describing this character which clearly shows he has no voice and has been excluded from society because someone is having to give their voice for him. The use of the adjective ‘sad’ in the quote makes the phrase seem quite melancholy, particularly because tattoos are often associated as something that you get done to remember a good moment, while ‘high punk’ clearly

In ‘The Horse Whisperer’ the coming of modern technology is described in the quote, ‘but the tractor came over the fields’. The use of the phrase ‘over the fields’ in this quote makes it sound like the tractor is coming for them, which it is as it has taken their jobs and replaced them. This shows that the character’s profession is clearly out of date and their only way to survive is to update themselves, however they do not do this which is shown when the character says ‘my gifts were tools of revenge’. This shows that they will not let go of their past and establish themselves in another career but instead want to continue worsening the situation. The idea of being outdated is very evident in ‘The Clown Punk’, and his choice of clothes is described as, ‘like a basket of washing had gotten up’. This shows both that he no longer tries to create a good impression but also his choice of clothing is disrespected too. He is no longer in fashion and may never be again, and although he chooses not to change, society have changed and no longer view his fashion as anything other than something to laugh at. The extent to which the man has followed this characteristic and life of punk is shown when the narrator describes him as ‘his dyed brain’. This suggests he has tattooed his brain permanently and his punk habits will always be a part of him as it is who he is and he cannot change