Mother any distance

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Mother any distance

• By Aneesah, Haleema, Sidra Ronnie

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Attitudes and ideasWhat is it about?

• 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 narrators
  mother, it suggests how she is caring, loving and
  helpful, this suggests that Armitage had a loving
  childhood.

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How are themes featured in the poem?How do they
help you understand that character?

• 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 doesnt 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.

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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.

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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.

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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 hes left home, he can
  either fly on to bigger things, or he can be
  pulled back down to home. Its the risk he has to
  take.

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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 Armitages emotions.
• Rhyme all the way through gives the poem a loving
  tone, illustrates how fond he is of his mother.

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More Structure

• Its a monologue 1st person which makes us
  understand his view.
• Its in sonnet form which shows how much he loves
  his mum as a sonnet is more of a love poem. This
  shows that shes the most important woman in his
  life, rather than talking about his lover he
  writes about his mother.

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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.

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Thanks to
Philip Alan Updates GCSE Student Text Guide