Salome And Hitcher

Compare how Duffy and Armitage write about violence in ‘Salome’ and ‘Hitcher’

‘Salome’ and ‘Hitcher’ both use a first person persona and with that, give us insight into their feelings and the theme of violence throughout both poems.

In ‘Salome’, Duffy’s character uses a nonchalant tone with no remorse when depicting her actions, which is also present in ‘Hitcher’ too. Salome had ‘done it before’ and will ‘doubtless do it again’ but is oblivious of the repercussions of what she has just stated. She is a promiscuous character and is unaware of what she has done until the last stanza, whereas the narrator in ‘Hitcher’ is fully conscious of his actions. He ‘lets him have it’ and is proud of his actions and his ability to not swerve while attacking the hitchhiker. His colloquial manner represents that he sees it as an entertaining story and how he is unaffected by his actions.
In comparison, Hitcher just drives away from the body and is ignorant as to his fate; he does not care if he’s alive; he just ‘lets him out’. His casual description of how the body bounces and disappears questions his mental stability and his possession of a conscience. Salome also defends herself, describing the man as a ‘beater or biter’, proposing that she reacted in self-defence although she could also be referring to herself. The plosive ‘b’ also portrays the violence involved with those