1. The Clown Punk – Simon Armitage
Objective:
AO1: To comment on the meaning of an unseen text using details from the poem to support your opinion.
Keywords:
Content = What the poem is about, the meaning
Imagery = use of images, speech, and description
Connotation: the association a reader gets from a word, picture or colour

2. Starter: Image reactions
What do these people have in common?
What do they not have in common?
Look at the pictures below and state your initial reaction(s) to the person / people in the photo. Do not spend more than 5 seconds on each picture.

3. Task: Title Connotations
Clown Punk
Having seen the pictures of a clown and a punk in the first task, describe and draw what the connotations are you think of are when you hear the two words.
Clown: What do you think of? Appearance/ How is this person seen by society? Are they seen in a positive or negative way?
Punk: What do you think of? Appearance/ How is this person seen by society? Are they seen in a positive or negative way?

4. Homework: Research Research about punk culture and other sub cultures
How are they seen by society?
You should write at least 250 words.
Due: Friday 13th May

5. Task: Background
Look at this album cover from the punk band, The Sex Pistols.
What do you think their or other punks’ political views were? Make a note of your ideas in your books.

6. The Clown Punk
The Sex Pistols were a revolutionary English punk rock band of the mid-1970's. Led by Johnny Rotten. They sought to convey a political message that the music industry and western society in general were exploiting and conning the young people. Using outrageous clothing, including Nazi emblems, and more outrageous song lyrics and obscene slang language they sought to pervade the atmosphere of apathy and reach the minds of the young.”
What does this word mean?

7. Analysing The Clown Punk
Objective: To understand how to deconstruct a poem and work out the meaning of a poem

8. Starter: Word Clues
Back basket brain clown daft daubed deflated dog don’t driving dyed every face got he’ll high home indelible ink kids laugh lights like look man’s mush out picture pixel punk rain remember rope sad scalp scream seat shonky shot shrunken side skin slathers steps still tattoos ten think thirty time towing town traffic walked washing wince windscreen wipers years’ you’ll
Look at the selection of words above, all taken from the poem. Pick out:
five words to describe a person
five words that create a certain mood or tone

9. Initial Reading: What are your first impressions of the meaning?
‘shonky’ 
‘pixel’ 
‘indelible’ 
‘deflated’ 
‘daubed’ 
‘mush’ 
Translator 
rundown
small bit
permanent
depressed
smeared
face

10. ‘’shonky side of town’’

11. ‘’don’t laugh’’

12. ‘’indelible ink’’

13. ‘’deflated face’’

14. ‘’shrunken scalp’’

15. ‘’kids in the back scream and wince’’

16. Deconstructing the poem
STANZA 1 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
What does the phrase, ‘the shonky side of town’, suggest about the Clown Punk’s status?
Where is there a simile in this stanza? What does this simile imply about the Clown Punk?
Why does Simon Armitage end with ‘But’ in the first stanza? What does it cause you to do?

17. don’t laugh: every pixel of that man’s skin
STANZA 2
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
This stanza uses Imperative verbs. These are also known as 'bossy verbs'- they tell people what to do! e.g. close the door; empty the bin; eat your dinner!
What example of an Imperative verb can you find?
What is the effect?

18. the deflated face and shrunken scalp
STANZA 3
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,
What adjectives are used in this stanza?
Why are they effective?
What are their connotations?

19. remember the clown punk with his dyed brain,
STANZA 4
remember the clown punk with his dyed brain,
then picture windscreen wipers, and let it rain.
Where has Armitage used an imperative verb?
What is the effect?

20. Sympathetic Character
Focused Question
Does Armitage use the clown punk as a warning to society or does he use him as a sympathetic character?
Warning
Sympathetic Character

21. self-inflicted
Anti-establishment
Task One – write down all the quotations that suggest the clown punk is a warning to society.

22. Task Two – Write down all the quotations that show we should be sympathetic to the clown punk.

23. Differences between Character and Voice
Objective: To analyse the difference between the character and the voice presented in The Clown Punk

24. Starter: Word Clues
Back basket brain clown daft daubed deflated dog don’t driving dyed every face got he’ll high home indelible ink kids laugh lights like look man’s mush out picture pixel punk rain remember rope sad scalp scream seat shonky shot shrunken side skin slathers steps still tattoos ten think thirty time towing town traffic walked washing wince windscreen wipers years’ you’ll
Look at the selection of words above, all taken from the poem. Pick out:
five words to describe a person
five words that create a certain mood or tone

25. Homework Feedback
Give me three things you found out for homework about the punk movement.

26. Task: Storyboard Work in pairs.
One person should illustrate the poem by drawing things from the speaker’s point of view – a straightforward ‘translation’ of the poem
The other person should draw things from the clown punk’s viewpoint.
When you‘ve finished, compare the different versions and talk about what these add to our understanding of the character and the voice.

27. Answer the question
Does Armitage use the clown punk as a warning to society or does he use him as a sympathetic character?
Point – What is the poet saying about the character?
Evidence – Use the quotations you already have
Explanation - How does the quotation prove the point?