Another one of Armitage’s darker poems, this unusual sonnet reflects the poet’s interest in the isolation and self-recrimination which a number of his narrators exhibit.

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This is perhaps one of the most unsettling poems in the collection for reasons which will become apparent as we explore the imagery and tone of this poem.

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This is a darker and more unnerving poem than most we have studied together. On the surface it would seem to describe a child at Christmas time choosing her first violin but the lexical fields employed by Armitage, the setting and the poem’s ending hint that it has layers that are more disturbing…

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This quirky poem has some obvious ways in which it stands out from the rest of the collection but there are a number of ways in which it remains thematically aligned with the collection as a whole. Let’s take a close look at what might have inspired Armitage to write this piece.

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A brief exploration of this witty political poem, set in an airport lounge!

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