Catrin Flashcards
Give a quote to Show that the hospital is sterile
“Hot white room”
What does the phrase “watching people and cars taking turns at the traffic lights” show
It shows the contrast between people going about their everyday life and this life changing moment for her. But the similarities too as both the people at the traffic lights and she is waiting
Tight red rope of love ??
Umbilical cord. Symbol of the connection between the mother and child. Red is the colour of love in contrast with the hospital surroundings
Fought over ??
Brutality and pain of childbirth
Words coloured clean squares ??
Saying she screamed as she gave birth
Give an example of an oxymoron
“Wild tender circles. Shows contractions and may also show how the birth is going on and on
What does the phrase “neither won or lost the struggle” suggest?
That they were still together but no longer connected. They were still struggling as the child wanted more independence
From the hearts pool that old rope tightening around my life ??
She can never cut the rope emotionally. The relationship between her and her daughter is strangling her
Who wrote it?
Gillian Clarke
Give some context about Gillian Clarke
She was born in Cardiff in 1937 and speaks both Welsh and English. The poem is about her own daughter. She wants people to interpret her poems themselves. She says that she wrote the poem to answer the question “Why did my beautiful baby have to become a teenager”
What is the structure like?
The poem consists of short lines divided into two stanzas. One of them dealing with Catrins birth and the other the skating incident. The pause between them makes us wider what happened in between them
The poem could be universally about any mother and child
The skating incident could happen to anyone
Gillian Clarke uses a lot of imagery to Show her love and struggle with her daughter
Tight red rope of love
Words coloured the clean squares
Hearts pool that old rope tightening around my life
What does Clarke use enjambment for?
To show how all the events are flowing into one whilst she is waiting to give birth and prepare for the full stop before she gives birth
Describe the effect of the rhythm
It is gentle and expresses the love the mother feels for the cgd. It is also not regular as if it were a spontaneous train of thought
