Transcript Mother any distance

Mother any distance
By Aneesah, Haleema,
Sidra & Ronnie
Attitudes and ideas
What is it about?
1.
2.
The poem is about a strong bond shown between the
mother and child, even though they aren't together, this
is shown in the quotation;
“Mother, any distance greater than a single span
requires a second pair of hands”
This shows that Armitage will always need her in his
life no matter how far away he is and he will always
love her.
Another quotation which shows their strong bond is;
“you come to help me”
this shows that the character realises no matter where
he is in the world, his mother will always be by his
side, whether in real life or just in his mind. This also
tells us about the narrator’s mother, it suggests how
she is caring, loving and helpful, this suggests that
Armitage had a loving childhood.
How are themes featured in the poem?
How do they help you understand that
character?
1.
2.
A parent and child relationship is shown, this is shown in the
quotation; “mother”, the fact that the first line starts with
mother shows how important his mother is in hiss life. Also it
shows how dedicated he is to his mother and how much he
thinks about his mother. This shows a strong bond that they
have. It also on the other hand shows that he is not that close
to his “mother” because he doesn’t refer to her as “mum”,
which is more common, however it could also suggest that he
calls her “mother” out of respect or it could just have been the
way he was been bought up.
Another quotation that shows the parent and child relationship
is; “requires another pair of hands”, this shows that they
always help each other out and are always there for each
other. It could also show how Armitage can ’t do much without
his mother and that he always seems to need her. Another
thing it shows is that they come as a two and are never alone.
Alternate interpretation
• “years between us”, this shows that it is hard for
the pair to be apart now because of all the years
they spent together. On the other hand, this could
also show that the narrator feels a need to move on
and explore the world because of the big age gap
which means there is a big social difference
between them.
Language
• Armitage uses measurement metaphors in
the poem to show the loving relationship
he has with his mother. This is shown by
“back to base” It shows that he will always
go back to his mum.
• “ Up the stairs” shows that Armitage is
going up on to bigger and better things in
his life.
• “Feeding out” this gives the reader the
image of the connection between him and
his mother, like the umbilical cord.
Close text analysis
• “Anchor. Kite.” Both of these words show
the connection between him and his
mother, as they both have a line connected
to them and one grounds the other to keep
it safe.
• “Anchor.” illustrates that his mother is
trying to hold him down, keep him at home.
That she is heavy and determined.
• “Kite.” reveals that he’s left home, he can
either ‘fly’ on to bigger things, or he can be
pulled back down to home. It’s the risk he
has to take.
Structure
• Armitage uses caesura, “of an inch…. I
reach”. This gives the reader time to think,
shows that its not an easy decision that
Armitage is having to take.
• Enjambment – gives the poem a
conversational tone which makes it easier
for the reader to understand Armitage’s
emotions.
• Rhyme all the way through gives the poem
a loving tone, illustrates how fond he is of
his mother.
More Structure
• It’s a monologue: 1st person – which
makes us understand his view.
• It’s in sonnet form which shows how
much he loves his mum as a sonnet
is more of a love poem. This shows
that she’s the most important
woman in his life, rather than talking
about his lover he writes about his
mother.
What poems does it
compare with?
•
•
•
•
•
•
‘Before you were mine’
‘Song of the Old Mother’
‘Homecoming’
‘My father thought it’
‘Kid’
These poems cover the parent
and child theme.
Thanks to …
Philip Alan Updates GCSE Student Text Guide