www.1966batfan.com/video2.

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Kid Simon
Armitage

First impressions
What ideas do you understand and can
explain to others? Underline it and explain
next to it.
Which image or idea is rather confusing at
the moment? Underline it. Others could
answer for you.
Go round the class with 5 examples to see
if you can answer someone elses
confusion.

The original Batman

and Robin

Watch these two clips of the 1960s TV show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjKyGs-G6Sg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=yzNCpwhrDV4&list=RD9d8srLbNih0&index=16

Make notes on:

The tone of the series
Language of the series
Robin
Robins relationship with Batman

Go back to the poem

Do some of the images / ideas make more
sense now?
Write your ideas, in note form, next to
them.

Initial reading of a poem

What do you think this poem is about?
Who is speaking to whom who is this
poem about?
Where do you think this poem is
happening is this important?
Underline each element with a diff colour
have a key to remind yourself.
Highers - What tone do you think you
should read this in?

Look at your annotations and

notes
What is this poem about - really?
The who character
The what idea / incident / event
The where location
When you have an answer, make sure you
can support it!

Tasks to answer as annotations

Think about how Armitage uses language to help convey
his ideas (each time try to match the answer with a poetic
feature):
1.How is Batman presented at the beginning of the
poem?
2.How does this presentation change as the poem
progress? find 3 key images think of the ending.
3.This poem contains various forms of slang find 3
examples. Can you find a reason for the slang?
4.What do you think the central message is can you
find a single quote to support this idea?
5.What does the title tell us about the meaning of the
poem? Does it only make sense after a 2nd reading?

Tasks to answer as annotations

Robins point of view is the only one we hear in this poem
so what do you think really happened between them?:
1.How does Robins down to earth view of events give us
an indication of what really happened?
2.Robins use of casual language suggests perhaps that
he is showing off to his friends find examples of the
clichs that could be seen as him boosting.
3.This poem also spoofs tabloid headlines find an
example and show how the new Robin could be making
fun of the old Robin.
4.How important do you think the metaphor Im not
playing ball boy any longer is?
5.How does Robin even scorn the superhero genre?

How
You have looked at who, what
and where and touched on
why and how.
How is both the language and
the structure of the poem.

Dramatic monologue
A dramatic monologue is a poem that
shares many features with a speech from
a play: one person speaks, and in that
speech there are clues to his/her
character, the character of the implied
person or people that s/he is speaking to,
the situation in which it is spoken and the
story that has led to this situation.

Structure
This poem is1 BIG LONG STANZA and it only has 5
sentences.
The sentences are quite long and complex what could this
effect could this create?
Could this show that Robin is fact ranting?
Could the pace be faster perhaps to show that
Robin is engerised having dumped Batman?
Can you think of a third interpretation?
Enjambment is used carefully in this poem there is even
a sexual joke here! Can you find it?

Kid
Batman, big shot, when you gave the order
to grow up, then let me loose to wander
leeward, freely through the wild blue yonder
as you liked to say, or ditched me, rather,
in the gutter well, I turned the corner.
Now Ive scotched that he was like a father
to me rumour, sacked it, blown the cover
on that he was like an elder brother
story, let the cat out on that caper
with the married woman, how you took her
downtown on expenses in the motor.
Holy robin-redbreast-nest-egg-shocker!
Holy roll-me-over-in-the-clover,
Im not playing ball boy any longer
Batman, now Ive doffed that off-the-shoulder
Sherwood-Forest-green and scarlet number
for a pair of jeans and crew-neck jumper;
now Im taller, harder, stronger, older.
Batman, it makes a marvellous picture:
you without a shadow, stewing over
chicken giblets in the pressure cooker,
next to nothing in the walk-in larder,
punching the palm of your hand all winter,

P The feminine rhyme

(with each line ending in an
unstressed syllable), lead
naturally to the last irony of
the poem, that Robin is
the real boy wonder. - Q
A - This not only increases
the pace echoing Robins
excitement, it could also
add to the effect of his
ranting about the injustice
of his childhood.
A+ - The closing phrase
has been reclaimed by
Robin it is Batman who is
the baby.

Rhythm
Hum the theme tune to the original Batman and Robin
theme tune What do you notice?
It is the same! So is Armitage mocking the theme
tune or something else?
The poem is built with iambic pentameter to mimic the
theme tune again, and to emphasise Robins list of all
of the things that he finds fault with Batman.
Some say iambic pentameter is the closest rhyme
form to speech or the heart-beat what do you
think? Can your views apply to this poem?

Imagery
There are many images in this poem
Batman, it makes a marvellous picture:
you without a shadow, stewing over
chicken giblets in the pressure cooker,
next to nothing in the walk-in larder,
punching the arm of your hand all winter
Why do you think this image ends the poem?
Write a PQA paragraph that explore your ideas.