From the very beginning of “Sorry”, the reader is given a sense of intention; “The knife plunged” implies a purposeful stab, and certainly not one that was accidental. Continuing in the poem reaffirms this sense of intention, or, at the very least, knowledge of what is occurring. Of course, the man with the knife must know that he is ripping the belly and moving down the midriff! However, the reader concludes by learning that it is only after the man with the knife slashes the string holding the man’s pyjamas that the man with the knife realizes what has transpired and apologize. Evidently, the man was either oblivious of his actions the whole time (or, rather, he just didn’t care). It is this reveal that the pyjama string was the waking moment for the man with the knife that makes the poem such a tragedy, as cutting through actual blood and flesh was not what stopped him, but a small string of cloth.