SIMON:I wrote this poem in the early nineties. It's interesting to write about homelessness because it's a real visible manifestation of something that's not working properly in society.
SIMON:These are people who have been left behind, or people who don't fit in.
SIMON:Give.
SIMON:Of all the public places, dear, to make a scene, I've chosen here. Of all the doorways in the world to choose to sleep, I've chosen yours. I'm on the street, under the stars. For coppers, I can dance or sing. For silver, swallow swords, eat fire. For gold, escape from locks and chains. It's not as if I'm holding out for frankincense, or myrrh, just change. You give me tea. That's big of you. I'm on my knees, I beg of you.
SIMON:A poem written in the voice of somebody living on the street requires, I think, a certain amount of empathy. You have to put yourself in that person's position.
SIMON:Graham, do you wanna tell me a bit about what goes on here?
GRAHAM:The Mustard Tree supports a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds, predominately homeless. We run two soup runs a week.
SIMON:Right.
GRAHAM:Which feeds up to 70 people a night. I, myself, was homeless and living on the streets for a while. It's terrible, because it's almost soul destroying, you know? People just walk past you, and don't even look at you. Sometimes, it's not even about the money. Sometimes it's about someone just saying hello to you. That can make you feel human again.
SIMON:Bit of human contact is worth a lot.
GRAHAM:Yeah. Worth more than money.
SIMON:Of all the public places, dear, to make a scene, I've chosen here.
SIMON:Of all the doorways in the world to choose to sleep, I've chosen yours.
SIMON:I'm a big admirer of that kind of poem which has surface meaning, and then another meaning. And, in the case of this poem, it's love. It's a love poem. I think that's hinted at in the first line with the use of that word 'dear'. It, perhaps, suggests a more personal relationship, and I think as the poem goes on, you get further signals and hints and clues.
SIMON:For coppers, I can dance or sing. For silver, swallow swords, eat fire. For gold, escape from locks or chains. It's not as if I'm holding out for frankincense, or myrrh, just change.
SIMON:There's usually one line in every poem which seems to be flashing on and off. Either because it's outrageous, or it contains the significance of the poem, I refer to it as the Neon Line. In this poem, it's that line about holding out for frankincense and myrrh. The speaker in the poem is saying, "it's not like I'm trying to be the infant Christ here. All I want is something that you can give me. It's not a miracle that I'm asking for."
SIMON:You give me tea, that's big of you. I'm on my knees, I beg of you.
SIMON: This poem doesn't have a rhyme scheme, as such, but there are little rhymes holding it together. Some of them are internal, they don't always happen at the end of the line. And some of them are half rhymes, words like chains and change. It suggests unrequited love, and it reduces the person in the poem to begging. They are begging for love which is an extraordinarily… uncomfortable and insecure place to be. That's the place that the poem is speaking from.
Simon Armitage reads and analyses his poem ‘Give’, looking at both its surface and deeper meanings.
Images of rough sleepers in Manchester and an interview with a man who has experienced homelessness help give context to the narrative voice of the poem.
Armitage then explores possible deeper meanings behind the surface, linking analysis of language and structure to alternative ways of interpreting the poem.
This clip is from the series Simon Armitage: Writing Poems.
Teacher Notes
Key Stage 3
Can be used to explore different layers of meaning in the poem.
Students are given a diagram containing a centre circle with gradually larger circles expanding outward from this (a pyramid or sandwich template could also be used).
In the centre circle they write a quotation from the poem. In the next circle they write a very literal interpretation of this.
In the adjacent spaces they write increasingly abstract ideas for what the line might mean.
Which pair can come up with the most abstract ideas whilst still remaining credible?
Key Stage 4
Can be used to explore the film director's fairly literal visual interpretation of the poem in the clip.
Choose five of the images from the clip (eg Armitage copying his poem on to the pavement using chalk at night) and discuss why these might have been used.
Students are then asked to draft their own storyboard, for a filmed interpretation of the poem.
Which lines would go in the sound column of their storyboard and with which images? What deeper meanings have students chosen to explore through their particular choices of images in their storyboards?
How have they been able to explore the multiple meanings of many of the lines?
The final ideas could be filmed, or recorded on to presentation software.
Students could be asked to consider the concluding question of whether the poem is really an outcry over public issues of homelessness, or private ones of love? What else is the poem about?
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching English Literature.
_ It will be relevant for teaching poetry analysis at KS3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Level 3 in Scotland._
This clip could also be used for teaching general poetry analytics skills at KS4/GCSE/National 5.