parental love Flashcards
Eric
Mother any Distance
FORM-This poem is loosely written in the form of a sonnet. Sonnets are traditionally used for love poetry, so this choice of form shows that the speaker still loves his mother. Unlike a sonnet, the poem has an irregular rhyme scheme this reflects the narrator’s feeling of uncertainty. The uneven lines of the last stanza reflect how the bond between mother and son is reaching “breaking point”.
STRUCTURE The speaker talks about how he needs his mother in the first stanza. In the second stanza he begins to explore independence, and in the last stanza he understands that something/Has to give” if he’s going to be independent. The poem ends with the reader unsure whether he will “fall” or “fly”.
LANGUAGE ABOUT MEASUREMENT Measurements and distances are an extended metaphor in this poem. They represent the poet’s changing relationship with his mother.
LANGUAGE ABOUT MOVEMENT Movement is used to show how the poet is breaking away from his mother. Walking around his new house is like exploring a new world, and he feels ready to try to “fly”.
IMAGERY - The visual image of the tape as a link between the mother and son suggests an umbilical cord (a cord that connects a baby in the womb to its mother). The image of the narrator as a “Kite” and his mother as an “Anchor” suggests that she keeps him secure. At the end of the poem, this link seems to be about to break, which shows that the narrator is breaking away from his mother.
Walking away
FORM- The poem has a first-person narrator - this emphasises that it’s talking about personal experiences. The use of enjambment and caesura contributes to the rhythm of the poem, which sounds like natural speech. The regular ABACA rhyme scheme reflects the steadiness of the father’s parental love, and the repetition of the ‘A’ rhyme reflects how the memory of that day continues to affect him years later.
STRUCTURE In the first two stanzas the narrator talks about the memory. In the final two stanzas, he reflects on how the memory still pains him. The final two lines of the poem form a sort of conclusion - he understands that whilst it was a painful event, it was a necessary part of his son’s development.
NATURAL IMAGERY- Natural imagery is used to show the father’s growing understanding that his son walking away from him is natural, but also that he remains concerned about him. He compares his son to a “half-fledged” bird out in the “wilderness” - he’s worried because he sees his son as vulnerable. 4
LANGUAGE ABOUT PAIN-Verbs such as “Wrenched”, “scorching” and “Gnaws” show how the process is traumatic for the father as well as difficult for the son.
Climbing my grandfather
FORM- This poem is written in the present tense, following the narrator’s journey up the mountain as he’s imagining it. Enjambment imitates the motion of climbing and emphasises the climber’s steady progress. Visually, the poem looks strong and solid like a mountain.
STRUCTURE - The poem follows a climber’s progress up a mountain from the bottom to the summit-it feels as though he’s getting higher with each line of the poem.
LANGUAGE ABOUT MOUNTAINS - The extended metaphor of the grandfather as a mountains show the grandson sees him as a permanent, reliable part of his life, and something impressive to explore.
LANGUAGE ABOUT EXPLORATION-The climbing metaphor creates a sense of adventure that reflects the child’s excitement and enjoyment at playing with his grandfather. The child-like way in which he notices and describes things shows how he’s fascinated by the features he discovers.
LANGUAGE ABOUT PERSONAL DISCOVERY-The poem can also be read as the words of an adult who is learning about his grandfather it is adult in tone and uses complex language.
farmers bride
FORM -The poem is a dramatic monologue, mostly in iambic tetrameter, with a rhyme scheme that varies through the poem. This helps give the poem a strong rhythm that drives the narrative forward without becoming predictable. It’s written entirely from the farmer’s point of view - his wife has no voice.
STRUCTURE -The farmer tells the story of the marriage failing through the first two stanzas, then goes on to discuss how his wife is now, how he feels towards her, his sadness and his desire.
DIALECT -The poem contains many dialect words, which help to give a strong sense of the farmer’s character. We can hear his voice in his language and in his grammar- this adds to the drama as it helps us picture the people involved.
LANGUAGE ABOUT NATURE -The farmer mainly uses imagery taken from the natural world. This reflects his identity, whilst his descriptions of his wife link her to images of nature and wildness. In the second stanza she is likened to a hunted hare.
porphyrias lover
A
FORM-The poem is a dramatic monologue. The asymmetrical rhyme scheme (ABABB) and enjambment suggest that the speaker is unstable. However, the regular rhythm of the poem reflects his calmness. Porphyria has no voice in the poem - the speaker projects his own thoughts and feelings onto her in life and in death.
STRUCTURE-Events in the poem mirror each other. In the first half of the poem, Porphyria is active and dominant while her lover is passive, which is shown by the way she rests his head on her shoulder. These positions are reversed when the speaker kills her afterwards he places her head on his shoulder.
LANGUAGE OF POSSESSION-The speaker wants Porphyria to belong to him “for ever”, but he believes that her “pride” and “vainer ties” (possibly meaning her higher social status) are stopping her from being with him. He is desperate to possess her, and in death she becomes his object.
LANGUAGE OF LOVE AND VIOLENCE -The speaker combines love and violence to reflect the troubled and destructive nature of his lovee.g. “heart fit to break” and “burning kiss”
winter swans
1) FORM-The poem is mostly written in tercets (three-line stanzas), which makes each stanza look unbalanced. The uneven line lengths and lack of rhyme scheme also contribute to a feeling of disjointedness -this reflects the troubled nature of the couple’s relationship. However, frequent enjambment emphasises its continuity. The final stanza is a couplet, which shows that they’ve been reunited as a couple.
2 STRUCTURE The narrator and his partner are separated for the first five stanzas, but they reunite in the final two. The swans provide a turning point at the start of stanza three- they’re beautiful and inspirational, in contrast to earlier descriptions of nature as a place of suffering. This reflects how the couple have reached a turning point in their relationship.
3 NATURAL IMAGERY Natural imagery reflects how their relationship struggles and then improves. Swans are a metaphor for their relationship as they’re part of the natural world, they show that love is natural. This influences the couple they hold hands so naturally that they don’t even notice it happening.
4) CONTRASTS - Language about disturbance and peace, separation and togetherness, leaving then returning is used to show how a couple are making up after a period of conflict in their relationship.
DIRECT SPEECH One small piece of dialogue is used in the poem, which shifts the focus back there’s hope for their relationship. onto the couple. It also breaks the silence
letters from yorkshire
A
FORM-The poem is written in free verse, which makes the poem flow like natural speech or a letter.
Enjambment allows lines and stanzas to flow into each other - this continuous movement reflects the way the seasons are constantly changing. The use of three-line stanzas instead of an even number of lines makes the poem look disjointed-this reflects how the narrator feels disconnected from the man.
STRUCTURE- In the first three stanzas, the narrator shows how she and the man live different lives. Despite this, it becomes clear in the final two stanzas that they have a deep connection.
PHYSICAL VERBS A series of active verbs (eg. “digging”, “planting”) describe the letter writer’s physical work in his garden. They are ordinary but satisfying actions that emphasise his connection with nature.
CONTRASTS The narrator presents her lifestyle as different to the letter writer’s - he works outside while she sits at a computer. Whilst he sees his life as ordinary, she romanticises it and sees her own life as inferior. Alliteration emphasises the contrast between her “heartfelt of headlines” and his “seeing the seasons” - the word “headlines” sounds melodramatic and artificial compared to the natural “seasons”.
5 LANGUAGE ABOUT COMMUNICATION - Communication bridges the distance between them and emphasises the things they have in common. Figurative language suggests their connection is almost spiritual
