At the beginning of this poem we get an interrogative tone. This tone is used to question the readers, which causes the reader to think and answer the questions themselves.
‘Anyone here had a go at themselves for a laugh? Anyone opened their wrists with a blade in the bath?’
The word ‘laugh’ is sarcastic, as the whole poem is linked to this idea of depression or self-harm. It could also show this idea of the speaker mocking someone as they ‘have a go at themselves for a laugh’. This ironic tone is used to emphasise the speakers view on this topic. The first sentence is contrasted with the rest of the poem to act almost like a softer way to start the poem. The repetition of ‘anyone’ shows that the speaker could be speaking to an audience and questioning a group of people as well as the reader. This could possibly show how the speaker has confidence to speak to a group of people about this shocking topic. The inner rhyme of ‘laugh’ and ‘bath’ is shocking after reading the poem as ‘bath’ is used to describe the amount of blood, as there is a ‘tidemark around the tub’. This increases the reader’s awareness of this ironic tone, as people would not laugh if a bath had a large amount of blood in it. Another sarcastic tone in the poem is when the speaker says ‘tough luck’ almost implying in a harsh way that it is there own fault for getting blood on the towels. It is also in a mocking tone, which heightens the idea of irony in the poem.
Armitage uses contrast throughout the poem, which heightens the ideas of how much blood there is from these cuts. The ‘crimson tidemark round the tub’ and ‘white towels washed a dozen times, still pink.’ The crimson contrasted with the white shocks the reader and there is tension created the phrases indicate the brutality of the poem. The idea of the blood being stained in the towels could suggest these cuts on the arms are stains that won’t go away in the speakers mind and on his or her skin because there will be a scar. The colour ‘crimson’ symbolizes the blood and how dark it is, showing the deepness of the cut or cuts.
The idea of people thinking there is ‘little love’ in their lives suggests that there is a possible problem in their lives and therefore they use self-harm to take away this pain. The speaker describes these people not wanted to show or let any know about these problems and how the scars and so they have ‘a passion then for watches, bangles, cuff’. This symbolizes the idea of hiding the scars and not wanting anyone to know about the mark on their arms. The word ‘passion’ is ironic towards the main ideas and themes of this poem as a ‘passion’ is something people enjoy and is almost like a hobby where as in the connotation it is a ‘passion’ for hiding things that are negative. This links to the word ‘laugh’ they both have the same connation as ‘laugh’ is usually a positive thing but in this poem it has a negative connotation.
The speaker describing ‘how a little love goes a long long long way’ suggests that these people don’t feel any love and that the smallest amount helps them. The repetition of ‘long’ in the last line suggests how long the cut is on the wrist. There are no commas and no breaks in the quote and this shows how endless it is. The oxymoron of ‘little’ and ‘long’ suggest multiple cuts and scars that are all different lengths for different reasons.
Not only is there repetition of words but also of letters. In the middle of the stanza the letter ‘b’ is uses to symbolize this idea of innocence and deception as ‘you were lashed by brambles picking berries from the woods’ heightens this idea. Another key example of this is ‘Lacerated skin between the forearm and the fist’. The repetition of the letter ‘f’ suggests a forceful, firm tone. These two words suggest violence like some sort of ‘fist’ fight. The word ‘punch’ towards the end of the poem connotes this idea of violence.
The repetition of words and letters help the reader visualize and understand the meaning and ideas clearer. Armitage’s use of different tones and images are effective as they show what the speaker is saying. This also portrays the themes of depression and exposure of secrets and characters identity.