The Clown Punk
Simon Armitage
Learning Objectives (AQA)
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AO1: respond to texts critically and
imaginatively, select and evaluate
textual detail to illustrate and support
interpretations.
AO2: explain how language, structure
and form contribute to writers’
presentation of ideas, themes and
settings.
Write 3 words or phrases to describe the 2
pictures below. Share your ideas with a
partner.
What words would you use to describe
someone who is homeless?
The Clown Punk
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
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 windscreen wipers, and let it rain.
Simon Armitage
Sounds derogatory
The Clown Punk
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Shonky = rundown
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
Verbs of movement
Connective at end of
stanza
Imperative verb
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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 Dash at end of stanza
Alliteration and assonance
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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 windscreen wipers, and let it rain.
Mush = face
Rhyming couplet
Re-read the poem and think about these questions.
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What sort of character is the
Clown Punk?
What is his status in Stanza
1?
How do the children react to
the Clown Punk?
Why does the narrator want
the children to remember
the Clown Punk?
Rhyme and Rhythm
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The poem is written as a sonnet – 14 lines
traditionally written in iambic pentameter.
Iambic pentameter – 10 syllables per line,
alternately unstressed and stressed
Dri-ving home through the shon-ky side of town
Unstressed syllables
in italics
Stressed syllables
in bold
Re-read the poem and answer the following
questions.
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Why is the poem written as
a sonnet?
Why does the poet use
rhyming couplets?
What is the effect of the
poet’s use of alliteration and
assonance?
What is the effect of the final
couplet of the poem?
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Think of 3 questions that
you would ask either the
narrator or the Clown Punk if
you met them.
List 3 things that you have
learnt about the characters
in the poem.
What is the most memorable
word, phrase or line from
the poem? Why?