‘To a daughter leaving home’
When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up, while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
hankerchief waving
goodbye.’
How does the poet present the speakers feelings about her daughter?
Overall feelings:
Fear and protection based on the daughters vulnerability
Surprise
Love - because she loves her she feels worried about her
Sadness about growing up and independence
BIG IDEAS - think of 3 related ideas
Big idea - Love
Fear
‘i kept waiting for the thud of your crash’
dramatic verbs of ‘thud’ and ‘crash’
Surprise
‘my own mouth rounding in surprise’ compares to ‘screaming with laughter’
sensory language - exuberance from child and fearful parent
Sadness
‘like a handkerchief waving goodbye’
similie
Conceptual essay structure:
Intro - one sentence thesis statement based on the big idea (never techniques in thesis statement)
Parag 1 -based on big idea linked to your thesis statement
Evidence: quote
‘the poet powerfully conveys…’ point 1
Analyse and develop: technique, zoom in, effect on the reader, layer (if time further develop)
‘the reader has a sense of'…’ ‘at this time in the poem the reader feels…’
Do this x2
(if there is an extended metaphor that has a overall repeated influence in the poem then include this in the introduction)