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22 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Follower quotes |
“His shoulders globed like a full sail strung”- assonance of “ou” and “obed” emphasize the size of his father’s shoulders and the simile conveys how his father can harness great power like a sailing ship “An expert”- short sentence, caesura and sharp consonant sound reflect the father’s precise and unquestionable skill “I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake”- son’s clumsiness contrasts the father’s expertise; the sailing metaphor is extended —> the father is too powerful so he leaves a ‘wake’ like a ship does which could link to his great impression on the boy. |
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Follower context |
-Heaney grew up on his father’s farm in northern Ireland and so the poem is thought to be autobiographical -many of his concepts raised the topics of hard work and a rural lifestyle |
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Follower form&structure |
- the 6 stanzas of 4 lines are written in iambic pentameter, the steady rhythm reflects the steadiness of his father’s ploughing - the ABAB rhyme scheme occasionally slips to half-rhymes, symbolising how the boy falls short of his father - structure mirrors the movement of the horse: the enjambment of “a single pluck / Of reins” reflects the turning around of the horse - the volta(and role reversal) occurs in the final stanza when it is his father who is “stumbling / Behind me” |
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Climbing my grandfather quotes |
“I discover the glassy ridge of a scar”- he is discovering previously unknown things about his grandfather, scar suggests a painful memory “His thick hair(soft and white with altitude)”- hair compared to a snowy mountain top: a place of beauty “I can only lie watching douds and birds circle” |
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Climbing my grandfather quotes |
“I discover the glassy ridge of a scar”- he is discovering previously unknown things about his grandfather, scar suggests a painful memory “His thick hair(soft and white with altitude)”- hair compared to a snowy mountain top: a place of beauty “I can only lie watching clouds and birds circle”- symbolises the rewards of the relationship once the mountain is climbed and linked their bond to nature. Also hints at boredom. “Knowing the slow pulse of his good heart”- he has finally gained knowledge and feels the steady reliable love of his grandfather “To drink among teeth. Refreshed”- the relationship nourishes and energises him |
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Climbing my grandfather quotes |
“I discover the glassy ridge of a scar”- he is discovering previously unknown things about his grandfather, scar suggests a painful memory “His thick hair(soft and white with altitude)”- hair compared to a snowy mountain top: a place of beauty “I can only lie watching clouds and birds circle”- symbolises the rewards of the relationship once the mountain is climbed and linked their bond to nature. Also hints at boredom. “Knowing the slow pulse of his good heart”- he has finally gained knowledge and feels the steady reliable love of his grandfather “To drink among teeth. Refreshed”- the relationship nourishes and energises him |
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Climbing my grandfather context |
- Andrew Waterhouse was a lecturer at an agricultural college - poem seems to be autobiographical with it reminiscing about his childhood, when everything seemed bigger aswell as his grandfather as he was a little boy |
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Climbing my grandfather quotes |
“I discover the glassy ridge of a scar”- he is discovering previously unknown things about his grandfather, scar suggests a painful memory “His thick hair(soft and white with altitude)”- hair compared to a snowy mountain top: a place of beauty “I can only lie watching clouds and birds circle”- symbolises the rewards of the relationship once the mountain is climbed and linked their bond to nature. Also hints at boredom. “Knowing the slow pulse of his good heart”- he has finally gained knowledge and feels the steady reliable love of his grandfather “To drink among teeth. Refreshed”- the relationship nourishes and energises him |
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Climbing my grandfather context |
- Andrew Waterhouse was a lecturer at an agricultural college - poem seems to be autobiographical with it reminiscing about his childhood, when everything seemed bigger aswell as his grandfather as he was a little boy |
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Climbing my grandfather form |
- poem is formed from one solid block of text, representing the solid structure and impressiveness of both a mountain and of his grandfather - each line tracks the journey of the ascent and charts the speaker’s growing relationship with his grandfather -the free verse and enjambment create an adventurous pace: the speaker barely pauses for breath in his pursuit of closeness and knowledge - present tense adds the sense of immediacy and adventure: the journey is unfolding before the reader’s eyes |
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Walking away quotes |
“Wrenched”, “scorching”, “gnaws”- painful verbs convey the intensity of the expirience “A sunny day with leaves just turning”-images of nature convey how the father now realises that this is a natural process for parents “Into the wilderness”- metaphor for how a child leaves their parent to go into the world “The touch-lines new-ruled”- new rules being set out by the father, symbolising the son’s independence. The dashes also highlight the reluctancy of the father to let his son be free. “Ordeals will fire one’s irresolute clay”- irresolute clay means uncertain clay, although the father is uncertain if it is the correct decision to let him go and is reluctant, he knows it will make his son strong and more solid like fired clay |
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Walking away quotes |
“Wrenched”, “scorching”, “gnaws”- painful verbs convey the intensity of the expirience “A sunny day with leaves just turning”-images of nature convey how the father now realises that this is a natural process for parents “Into the wilderness”- metaphor for how a child leaves their parent to go into the world “The touch-lines new-ruled”- new rules being set out by the father, symbolising the son’s independence. The dashes also highlight the reluctancy of the father to let his son be free. “Ordeals will fire one’s irresolute clay”- irresolute clay means uncertain clay, although the father is uncertain if it is the correct decision to let him go and is reluctant, he knows it will make his son strong and more solid like fired clay |
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Walking away context |
- attended a boarding school so appreciated the pain and anxiety from both parents and children’s perspective - he was poet laureate for 5 years before his death |
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Walking away quotes |
“Wrenched”, “scorching”, “gnaws”- painful verbs convey the intensity of the expirience “A sunny day with leaves just turning”-images of nature convey how the father now realises that this is a natural process for parents “Into the wilderness”- metaphor for how a child leaves their parent to go into the world “The touch-lines new-ruled”- new rules being set out by the father, symbolising the son’s independence. The dashes also highlight the reluctancy of the father to let his son be free. “Ordeals will fire one’s irresolute clay”- irresolute clay means uncertain clay, although the father is uncertain if it is the correct decision to let him go and is reluctant, he knows it will make his son strong and more solid like fired clay |
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Walking away context |
- attended a boarding school so appreciated the pain and anxiety from both parents and children’s perspective - he was poet laureate for 5 years before his death |
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Walking away form&structure |
- first person narrative conveys personal nature of the poem -use of enjambment and caesura creates a personal tone, further adding to the authenticity of the poem - steady rhyme scheme ABACA reflects the consistency of the father’s love for his son - first 2 stanzas describe the day(18 years ago) and the final 2 stanzas reflect on how the memory still pains him after so long |
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Mother Any Distance quotes |
“The acres of the walls, the prairies on the floors”, “I space-walk through empty bedrooms”- language of exploration conveys adventure by also anxiety about finding his independance. The use of empty could suggest he fears what life will be like on your own and without the support of his parents “The line still feeding out, unreeling years between us”- the tape measure is an extended metaphor of an umbilical cord which emphasises his reliance on his mother “Breaking point, where something has to give”- she has to let him go and discover the world for himself “Your fingertips still pinch”- she is remembering back when he was a baby which emphasises her sadness of letting him go and her anxiety of what he will make his life like. The use of the physical verb ‘pinch’ suggests she longs to be with him again and show her love for him. |
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Mother Any Distance quotes |
“The acres of the walls, the prairies on the floors”, “I space-walk through empty bedrooms”- language of exploration conveys adventure by also anxiety about finding his independance. The use of empty could suggest he fears what life will be like on your own and without the support of his parents “The line still feeding out, unreeling years between us”- the tape measure is an extended metaphor of an umbilical cord which emphasises his reliance on his mother “Breaking point, where something has to give”- she has to let him go and discover the world for himself “Your fingertips still pinch”- she is remembering back when he was a baby which emphasises her sadness of letting him go and her anxiety of what he will make his life like. The use of the physical verb ‘pinch’ suggests she longs to be with him again and show her love for him. |
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Mother any distance context |
- Poem was published in 1993 when Armitage was 30 years old - part of a collection of poems all made to be read in the time a match burns - the poem aims to convey a powerful parent-child relationship in a short space of time |
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Mother Any Distance quotes |
“The acres of the walls, the prairies on the floors”, “I space-walk through empty bedrooms”- language of exploration conveys adventure by also anxiety about finding his independance. The use of empty could suggest he fears what life will be like on your own and without the support of his parents “The line still feeding out, unreeling years between us”- the tape measure is an extended metaphor of an umbilical cord which emphasises his reliance on his mother “Breaking point, where something has to give”- she has to let him go and discover the world for himself “Your fingertips still pinch”- she is remembering back when he was a baby which emphasises her sadness of letting him go and her anxiety of what he will make his life like. The use of the physical verb ‘pinch’ suggests she longs to be with him again and show her love for him. |
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Mother any distance context |
- Poem was published in 1993 when Armitage was 30 years old - part of a collection of poems all made to be read in the time a match burns - the poem aims to convey a powerful parent-child relationship in a short space of time |
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Mother Any Distance form and structure |
- sonnet-like structure(but with an extra line symbolising him breaking away), emphasises love for his mother - irregular rhyme scheme symbolises his desire for independence conflicted with his anxiety over loosening their bond - first 2 stanzas open with direct address of ‘mother’ and ‘you’ which creates a personal tone with her as the subject - final 2 stanzas shift to ‘I’ which shows he is now the focus, he has broken away and is independent now - single word sentences “anchor”, “kite” and regular caesura slow down the pace and convey apprehension - ellipsis in final stanza conveys uncertainty and how he finally reaches out towards the ‘endless sky’ |
