General Distance- Walking Away and Mother Any Distance. Flashcards
Ts1: both poems use natural imagery to present general distance.
‘Fall or fly’
‘Eddying…like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem’
‘Pathos of a half fledged thing set free’
Ts2: Whilst in MAD, the distance is present as positive in order to progress into adulthood, in WA, the distance is presented as negative.
‘Anchor.Kite’
‘Reporting’ ‘recording’
‘Gnaws at my mind still’
‘Eighteen years ago… I can see you walking away’
Ts3: Both parents are presented as guiding their children until they become distant.
‘You at the zero-end’
‘Acres of the walls’ ‘prairies of the floors’
‘Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit’
‘First game of football’
‘Finds no path where the path should be’
Structure: whilst in MAD, the poem ends with a rhyming couplet emphasising how even though they are physically distant, they will still be emotionally bonded, in walking away, line breaks and enjambment is used to emphasise the need to separate.
‘Sky’ ‘fly’
‘Drifting away/ behind a scatter of boys’
‘Fall or fly’
L= alliteration- oxymoron. Has to move away and become distant from his strong relationship with his mother in order to go into adulthood. Will either fail or thrive.
Bird imagery- bird is tested at its first flight, just like him. It has to flee the nest to become independent. Some fail, some thrive.
C= based on poets experience of moving away.
‘Eddying…like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem’
L= simile. A seed (child) must become independent and become distant from its parent if it is to grow. Verb ‘eddying’ suggests child is vulnerable with no clear direction due to the strong family bond with parent and dependence on father.
Must find its own path.
‘Pathos of a half-fledged thing set free’
L= emotive metaphor. Son= vulnerable. Not ready to become independent so the strong family bond has negatively affected his ability to become independent. R= pity for him.
Draws on the image of a bird and how they go out for the first time on their own into the wild. Shows the need for parents to let their children and the strong bond go in order for them to become independent.
C= based on poets experience of leaving his son at first day at boarding school.
R= reader can relate to this so very saddening for them.
‘Anchor.Kite’
Caesura- emphasises their need to separate: L= metaphor- she represents everything steady and stable in his life (anchor) I/D= alternatively, his mother being symbolised as an anchor could be negative as it could show that she has held him back and prevented his freedom. the speaker(kite) shows he has to fly free and become independent. Tension- loves mother but has to fly free to move on into adulthood. D= kite- no control- fly with no direction- maybe not ready. Distance= positive as mother preventing freedom and his ability to thrive as an independent adult.
‘Reporting’ ‘recording’
L= verbs. Speaker being active where as mother is just holding the tape. He’s very active and moving away, in contrast she is static. Suggesting that she is the one preventing his freedom and independence as an adult. D= his life is moving onto a new stage and her’s isn’t.
‘Gnaws at my mind still.’
L= powerful verb suggests ongoing pain and guilt at his parting from his son. This shows their true close family bond as they experience deep pain when parted. Caesura emphasises impact of parting. R= sympathy for father’s pain.
C= Day-Lewis dedicated the poem to his son Sean; he divorced Sean’s mother and left the family home.
D= on a deeper level, about his guilt at leaving the family, not just leaving his son at boarding school.
Distance negative as it makes speaker feel pain/guilt.
‘Eighteen years ago… I can see you walking away’
L= present tense even though in past- memory still vivid and painful. This emphasises their close bond as the parting hurt him so much still 18 years later. Structure: line break separates pronouns- emphasises son parting from father (physically moving away.) Direct address to son- suggests feelings unresolved in speaker.
Distance negative as it caused pain/guilt in speaker
‘You at the zero-end’
I= literally she is at the zero end of the tape
OR metaphorically she was there at the moment of his creation and his living out stage. He has never known life without her so difficult for him. Emphasises their strong relationship and bond that has to be broken for him to move on in life.
‘Acres of the walls’ ‘prairies of the floors’
L= hyperbolic metaphors. He feels very daunted and overwhelmed about moving out- not used to all this space. Maybe lack of preparation due to strong and close bond. Whole life before= dependent on someone else. Now= he has to be independent and adapt to new surroundings.
‘Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit’
L= simile. Verb= painful. Not ready for parting. Sons life revolves around him so strong family bond made him too dependent, resulting in a negative impact on his ability to become independent. Father guided him all this time before but now he has to become distant.
‘First game of football’
Shows how he was always there for him, cheering him on and helping him due to their close bond as father and son.
