English Lit: Family Relationship Poetry

What is the narrative of walking away?

Father contemplates the pain of letting his son grow up and face the dangers of the world alone

His young son walks away from him into school

What is the voice in walking away?

Fathers perspective

First person

Retelling a memory to his son

What themes are shown in walking away?

• Paternal love

• Independence

• Reflection

• Childhood

• Memory

What structure is used in walking away?

• 4 Stanzas

• 5 lines in each

• ABACA rhyme scheme

• consistant, stable structure represents unbreakable paternal bond

What is shown in the opening/ending of ‘Walking Away’?

The beginning issue is resolved - the father learnt how to let go and still love

What rhythm is shown in ‘Walking Away’?

Slow, mimics creeping painful separation from dads POV

What context is behind ‘Walking Away’?

• Cecil Day-Lewis was brought up by his dad

• HIs mother died when he was young (emphasis on dad-son relationship)

• Poem dedicated to his son Sean who went to boarding school at 7

What are some key quotes in “Walking Away’?

‘Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away’

‘Who finds no path where the path should be’ (the son)

‘Love is proved in the letting go’

What is the narrative in ‘Mother, any distance’?

Path of growing up, becoming independent but still needing his mother to help measure his new house

What is the voice in ‘Mother, any distance’?

Son speaker to his mum

First person

What themes are shown in ‘Mother, any distance’?

• Maternal love

• Growing up

• Independance

• Freedom

What structure is used in ‘Mother, any distance’?

• 4 lines in stanzas 1 & 2

• 7 lines in stanza 3

• ‘spans, hands’ ‘doors, floors’ ‘recording, leaving, unreeling

• Uneven rhyme scheme like their relationships (the son relies on his mum more than vice versa)

What is shown in the opening / ending of ‘Mother, any distance’?

‘Distance’ in the first line shows theme of separation

The ‘hatch’ symbolises freedom

Although the metaphorical tape measure separates them, his mother is still there

Fly - positive ending to the poem ‘sky, fly’ - harmony

What rhythm is shown in ‘Mother, any distance’?

slow, calming, reflecting

1 word sentences ‘Anchor’ ‘kite’

Enjambment shows the flow of their relationship

What is the context behind ‘Mother, any distance’?

Simon Armitage focuses on relatable content to capture the reader

What are some key quotations in ‘Mother, any distance’?

‘requires a second pair of hands’

‘unreeling years between us’

‘anchor. kite.’ ‘fall or fly’

‘fingertips still pinch’

‘hatch that opens to an endless sky’

What is the narrative of ‘Follower’?

Heaney’s childhood memories on the farm he grew up on, watching his father plough the fields & admiring him

What is the voice in ‘Follower’?

Seamus Heaney’s perspective

First person

Past tense, recalling a memory

Talking about relationship with his dad

What themes are shown in ‘Follower’?

• Admiration

• Idolisation

• Responsibility

• Identity

• Farming

What structure is used in ‘Follower’?

Six quatrains (4 lines stanza)

Regular rhyme scheme

Created with full rhyme & half rhyme

What is shown in the opening / ending of ‘Follower’?

Cyclical structure, the circle of life

Over time, the son no longer falls behind because he is young, the dad us falling behind because he is old

What rhythm is used in ‘Follower’?

Musical quality

Written in iambic tetrameter

steady beat, regular rhyme scheme

What is the context behind ‘Follower’?

Seamus Heaney was born in N. Ireland into large farming family

He wrote ‘Follower’ in 1960’s when rural life was very traditional

What are some key quotations in ‘Follower’?

‘His shoulders globed like a full sail strung’

‘I stumbled’ ‘in his broad shadow’

‘It is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away’

What is the Narrative in ‘Before you were mine’?

The speaker is looking at a photograph of her mum and imagining her mums life before she was born.

What is the voice in ‘Before you were mine’?

• Daughter addressing her mum

• First person

• Present & past tense

What themes are shown in ‘Before you were mine’?

• Childhood

• Memory

• Regret

• Ageing

• Reflection

What language techniques are used in ‘Before you were mine’?

metaphor - Marilyn monroe

synesthesia - ‘clear as scent’

repetition of ‘Before you were mine’

jovial, happy verbs

What structure is used in ‘Before you were mine’?

• 4 stanzas, 5 lines (quintains)

• simple sentence structure (child pov)

• separated pronouns ‘you. I.’

• cesuras (punctuation in middle of line)

What is shown in the opening/ ending of ‘Before you were mine’?

Chronological order - following mums life

How life changes

What rhythm is used in ‘Before you were mine’?

• coloquial

• conversational

• fast-paced

What context is behind ‘Before you were mine’?

Written about Carol Ann Duffy’s mum who died after poem was written

She was raised by her parents in 1950’s as roman catholic

Poem explores the strong conventions of society women were expected to adhere to

What are some key quotations in ‘Before you were mine’?

‘Your polka-dot dress blows round you legs. Marilyn.’

‘I’m not here yet. the thought of me doesn’t occur'

‘I remember my hands in those high-heeled shoes, relics’

‘stamping stars from the wrong pavement’

What is the narrative of ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

A grandson imagines himself climbing up his grandfather from his feet to the top of his head

What is the voice in ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

Grandson

First person

What themes are shown in ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

• admiration

• Childhood

• Idolisation

What is shown in the opening/ending of ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

Metaphorical Journey from bottom to top of mountain

Gets to know grandfather the higher he climbs

What structure is used in ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

One single long stanza

Long journey climbing a mountain

What context is behind ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

• N-east england

• Focuses on environment

• Mental health struggles, took life at 42

What are some key quotations in ‘Climbing my Grandfather’?

‘easy scramble onto his trousers’

‘place my feet gently in the old stitches’

‘At his still firm shoulder, I rest for a while in the shade’

‘slow pulse of his good heart’

What is the narrative of ‘Eden Rock’?

Reflecting on a family memory where the visited Eden Rock. Picnic with Mother & Father

What is the voice in ‘Eden Rock’?

Sons POV

FIrst person

Semi-autobiographical

Written about dead parents

What themes are show in ‘Eden Rock’?

• Reflection

• Partings

• Heaven

• Loneliness

• Loss

• Memory

• Grief

• Reuniting

What structure is used in ‘Eden Rock’?

• 5 quatrians

• Half rhyme

• irregular rhythm

• Single line - distance between him & parents

What is shown in the opening/ending of ‘Eden Rock’?

Behind in continuous present

At the end, the speaker shifts to address the reader

What Rhythm is used in ‘Eden Rock’?

Irregular, cheerful

Repetition & sibilance

Sad ending

What is the context behind ‘Eden Rock’?

• Charles Causally - corning poet

• Dad dies when he was 7, 1924

• Mum died in 1950’s

• Poetry is simple and direct

What are some key quotations in ‘Eden Rock’?

‘Her hair…takes on the light’

‘The same three plates’

‘The whiteness as if lit by three suns’

‘My mother shades her eyes and looks away’

‘Crossing is not as hard as you might think.’

‘I had not thought it would be like this.’