The Clown Punk
Revision
Read the poem through!
Terms you’ll need to know
• Enjambment – when one line of poetry carries
on to the next one without any punctuation
and walked, towing a dog on a rope.
But
don’t laugh: every pixel of that man’s
skin
is shot through
Terms you’ll need to know
• Assonance = the same vowel sounds in words
close together after one another
three times out of ten you’ll see the town clown,
Terms you’ll need to know
• Sonnet = a 14 lined
poem that usually
is about love
Terms you’ll need to know
• Full rhyme = when words at the ends of lines
in poetry rhyme completely
Driving home through the shonky side of town,
three times out of ten you’ll see the town clown,
Terms you’ll need to know
• Internal rhyme = full rhyme within a line of
poetry
three times out of ten you’ll see the town clown
Terms you’ll need to know
• Half rhyme = when words at the end of lines
of poetry almost rhyme (also known as
pararhyme)
You kids in the back seat who wince and scream
when he slathers his daft mush on the windscreen,
Vocabulary
• Shonky = dirty and derelict
Vocabulary
• Punk = a follower of rock (old
meaning = worthless person)
Vocabulary
• Mush = informal for face/mouth
The Title Analysis
WHAT DO YOU
NOTICE ABOUT
THE TITLE?
Clown = something
funny to laugh at
The Clown Punk
Punk = rocker (or
worthless person)
Stanza by Stanza
Analysis
WHAT DO YOU
NOTICE ABOUT
THIS STANZA?
These words make the poem
seem chatty and light hearted
Addressed to the
reader
Driving home through the shonky side of town,
three times out of ten you’ll see the town clown,
like a basket of washing that got up
and walked, towing a dog on a rope. But
Simile:
describes
untidy
appearance of
clown punk
Tone: seems like a fun
thing to see; the tone
is happy. The word
choice and easy
rhythm create a
positive tone
Enjambment:
unconventional for a
sonnet – suggests
we’re being told a
story
Stanza by Stanza
Analysis
Metaphor: his skin
hasn’t actually been
shot through but the
‘tattoo gun’ has
damaged his skin
beyond repair
WHAT DO YOU
NOTICE ABOUT THIS
STANZA?
These words create a
negative or derisive
tone which is added to
by the condescending
last line as though the
narrator is sneering at
the clown punk,
thinking he’s pathetic
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 –
Tone: the tone
has become
serious because
of the words
‘don’t laugh’ are
usually used
when we’re
being told off
Enjambment
used to allow for
extra detail
about clown
punk
The narrator
appears to be
talking to his
children
Stanza by Stanza
Analysis ‘sad tattoos’
suggest the
clown punk is
pathetic
‘daubed’
suggests the
tattoos were
badly done
‘deflated’ and ‘shrunken’ show
the clown punk’s age; it also
reminds us of a clown’s balloon
that has literally deflated and
shrunk – like the fun has gone
from his life with age
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,
‘daft mush’ suggests the
narrator thinks the clown
punk is silly (daft) and
idiotic – this creates a
derisive/negative tone
WHAT DO YOU
NOTICE ABOUT THIS
STANZA?
Like the
punk – the
punk era
has ended
The last two
lines suggest
the clown punk
is threatening –
comment aimed
at outsiders
from society
Stanza by Stanza
Analysis
WHAT DO YOU
NOTICE ABOUT THIS
STANZA?
The narrator is suggesting to his
children that they should
remember the clown punk but
then forget him – he is dismissing
the clown punk; he has no respect
for him because like all rebellions
he feels this one won’t last which
continues the negative and
derisive tone
remember the clown punk with his dyed brain,
then picture windscreen wipers, and let it rain.
The narrator tells the children
to look and remember the
clown punk but then to focus
on the windscreen wipers in
front – the rain could suggest
the narrator is waiting for the
rain to wash away the clown
punk
Metaphor: his brain isn’t
literally dyed but the
narrator seems to be
suggesting that the punk
era has ‘died’ (pun) and is
out of date
This poem shows…
The end of the punk era and the way that the
punk was seen as an outsider. The poem is
showing the end of youthful rebellion and
the dismissive nature of society towards
outsiders. In this poem the outsider, the
clown punk, is threatening. Meanwhile the
car symbolises the normal life that the punk
has refused to be a part of.