"Hitcher" appears in the collection Book of Matches (1993), by English writer Simon Armitage. A dramatic monologue from the perspective of a man frustrated with his work, the poem lives up to the "dramatic" part of the term. The speaker, driving a rented car (perhaps as part of his job), picks up a hitchhiker and brutally assaults him before leaving him for dead. The perpetrator and victim have very different views of the world: the speaker's mainstream, clock-punching, materialist life contrasts with the hitcher's free-spirited anti-consumerism. The poem thus presents not only a shockingly casual description of violence but also a symbolic clash of ideologies.

• Read the full text of “Hitcher”

• “Hitcher” Summary

• “Hitcher” Themes

  • 

    The Mainstream vs. Counterculture

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-25
  • 

    The Potential for Violence

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-25

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Hitcher”

  • Lines 1-5

    I'd been tired, under ...
    ... It was hired.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-10

    I picked him ...
    ... the next bend.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-15

    I let him ...
    ... it into third

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 16-20

    and leant across ...
    ... liked the breeze

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 20-25

    He'd said he ...
    ... walk from there.

    

    

    

    

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• “Hitcher” Symbols

  • 

    The Car

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-5: “I thumbed a lift to where the car was parked. / A Vauxhall Astra. It was hired.”
    • Lines 13-14: “then six times with the krooklok / in the face—and didn't even swerve.”

• “Hitcher” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Lines 8-10: “The truth, / he said, was blowin' in the wind, / or round the next bend.”

  • Caesura

    

    

    

    

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    Where caesura appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “tired, under”
    • Line 2: “weather, but”
    • Line 3: “sick-note, mister, and”
    • Lines 3-3: “finished.  / Fired.”
    • Line 5: “Astra. It”
    • Line 8: “bed. The”
    • Line 9: “said, was”
    • Line 12: “Harrogate—once”
    • Line 13: “head, then”
    • Line 14: “face—and”
    • Line 17: “out, and”
    • Line 18: “kerb, then”
    • Line 19: “age, give”
    • Line 22: “hair. It”
    • Line 24: “that, I”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “under / the”
    • Lines 7-8: “east / with”
    • Lines 11-12: “it / on”
    • Lines 12-13: “once / with”
    • Lines 13-14: “krooklok / in”
    • Lines 15-16: “third / and”
    • Lines 17-18: “mirror / bouncing”
    • Lines 20-21: “breeze / to”
    • Lines 21-22: “fingers / through”

  • Juxtaposition

    

    

    

    

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    Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-25

• “Hitcher” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Under the weather
  • Ansaphone
  • Sick-note
  • Thumbed a lift
  • Vauxhall Astra
  • Hired
  • Leeds
  • Blowin' in the wind
  • Harrogate
  • Krooklok
  • Dropped it into third
  • The verge
  • Outlook
  • Stitch that
  • (Location in poem: Lines 1-2: “I'd been tired, under / the weather,”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Hitcher”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Hitcher” Speaker

• “Hitcher” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Hitcher”

• More “Hitcher” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The 1960s Counterculture — Dive into the history of the decade (which informs the hitchhiker's character).

    • "Blowin' in the Wind" — The classic Bob Dylan song quoted by the hitchhiker.

    • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Armitage's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.

    • Armitage on Poetry — Watch a brief interview with Armitage in which he discusses his poetic philosophy, including the violence that appears in this poem.

    • Armitage on Writing — Simon Armitage offers some advice for budding poets.

    • Armitage's Official Website — Visit Armitage's website to learn more about his recent work. 

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Simon Armitage

    • Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass

    • Mother, any distance

    • Out of the Blue (Excerpt)

    • Remains

    • The Manhunt

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