Mother, any distance 🪁

Question 1

Fill in the gaps and give analysis: ‘_____at the zero end’ ‘

Answer 1

• ‘You at the zero end’
• D= the speaker’s mother is holding onto the end of of the tape, but on a deeper the level the zero end signifies her presence since his birth- [she’s always been there his whole life]
• Their attachement is remiscent of an umblical cord- this suggests the mother and son have a deep connection. [But as he moves away, he realises he is becoming more distant]
• Mother is passive + son is active because she is at a fixed point, whilst the son is moving away.

Question 2

Fill in the gaps and give analysis: ‘ _________.Kite’

Hint: L, C + think about what a kite does.

Answer 2

‘Anchor. Kite’

L= Armitage’s use of caesura juxtaposed with the image of a kite, illustrates how parents find it difficult to let their child go, in order to mature/grow.

C= contextually important because mad illustrates how parents sometimes find it difficult to let their children be independent.

Question 3

What else can you comment about on the quote ‘requires a second pair of hands’ ?

Hint: connection

Answer 3

• perhaps this quote suggests there is a connection similar to the core [and fundamental] idea, that children rely on parents and mothers.
• this is because, they are needed to help children become an adult, care and look after children. [mothers have a specific purpose, which is more than one.]
• therefore this highlights how ultimately the speakers needs his mother.

Question 4

‘the acres of the walls, the prairies or the floors’

Hint: nature

Answer 4

• L= Armitage uses a lexical field of nature/the natural world-‘acres and prairies’- Aswell as connotations of a large and open space, since a prairie is a large, open area of grassland.
• Moreover, this lexical field highlights how ordinary and natural it is, for children to leave home once they become adults.
• Yet the speaker’s mother, believes the [physical] distance between them will result in an emotional distance between her and the speaker.

Question 5

What does the cesura in: ‘the acres of the walls, the prairies or the floors’ imply ?

Answer 5

• Armitage’s use of cesura, connotes a sense of a large and open space, that goes further than the mother’s house.
• I= perhaps this implies the speaker is communicating his feelings that he wants physical distance, from his mother [a desire for distance.]

Question 6

What alternative interpretations link to the quote: ‘the acres of the walls, the prairies or the floors’ ?

Answer 6

• I= Alternatively, the distance the speaker mentioned, is the distance speaker will have left, after he leaves his mother.
• This is reinforced by the hyperbolic metaphor, suggesting the speaker feels overwhelmed and perhaps lonely about living around, as he is surrounded by all the space

Question 7

What context relates to the quote: ‘the acres of the walls, the prairies or the floors’

Answer 7

• C= this quote is contextually important because, it reflects Armitage setting up home for the first time, after university.

Question 8

Fill in the gaps and give analysis: ‘space-________

Hint: L, D, C

Answer 8

‘space-walk’

L= hyperbolic metaphor- this imagery implies that without a force of gravity, the speaker has no clear path and has no aim- so perhaps, this metaphorical ‘gravity’ is his family which keeps his secure and firm.

Question 9

‘requires a second pair of hands’

Answer 9

• L= Armitage’s use of the verbs: ‘requires’ and ‘helps’, suggests the speaker and his mother have a close relationship- ; he speaker needs his mother and is still dependent on her, as he needs her [emotional] support.
• requires means a need for a particular purpose, and to make necessary- the ‘second pair’ of hands is representative of the speaker’s mother, which is a necessity.

Question 10

Fill in the gaps and give analysis’ opens on an ____________ to
fall or fly’

Hint: L + think about natural connotations.

Answer 10

• [ellipsis]

L= alliteration and caesura which furthers the poem’s conclusion, as it ends leaving on ‘fall’ or ‘fly’- its inconclusive.

• ‘fall’ or ‘fly’- the speaker will either succeed and fly, or fall and fail to be independent. This is the moment he is able to make decisions, without the help of his mother.
• suggests that like a bird, independence is natural and he will fly.
• L= adjective- Endless sky represents the endless opportunities of his future, as the reader doesn’t know whether he will fail or succeed. ; by ending the poem on ‘fly’, perhaps it suggests that the speaker will succeed and fly.
• rhyming structure [couplets] is implemented in the finak two lines, bewteen ‘sky’ and ‘fly’.

This suggests they may have been a return to the speaker having certainity (clarity) after their reflection. Also suggests harmony.

Question 11

Fill in the gaps and give analysis: ‘___ _____________of an inch’

Hint: L- focus on the rhyme scheme + emotionally letting go.

Answer 11

‘One hundredth of an inch’

• The speaker’s mother is still not letting him go, and her feelings are reluctant because she doesn’t want to emotionally let go of him.
  L= internal rhyme in pinch and inch to emphasise her desire to not let him go.

Question 12

What should you compare Mother, any distance to?

Answer 12

• Walking away
• Follower

Question 13

What are the themes in Mother, any distance?

Answer 13

• family bonds
• letting go
• childhood
• parental love

Question 14

This is a question about the form and structure of Mother, any distance.

Explain the effect of this: line break after the verb ‘leaving’, in the sixth line yet there is enjambement because the line is not end stopped.

Answer 14

• suggests the speaker wants to be indepedent, but is still emotionally attached.

Question 15

This is a question about the rhyme, rhythm and metre of Mother, any distance.

How does the rhyme change and why?

Answer 15

• as the poem progresses, the rhyme scheme begins to change. The poem begins wing half rhyme of ‘hands’ and ‘spans’, then it changes to rhyming pairs= showing the speaker and his mother are close, at the start of the poem.
• ; the rhyme scheme then changes to half rhyme once again, but after, the rhyme scheme dissolves and the rhyming pairs break= the speaker has a need for independence, so is this his breaking point ?
• I= alternatively, it could also be reflective of the most significant/greatest physical distance, but also emotionally distance on a deeper, metaphorical level. Is their parental relationships starting to dissolve and break down ?
• then the poem ends on a rhyming pair at the end- ‘fly, sky’- to emphasise their bond cannot be broken, regardless of distance.

Question 16

Anchor ____. What can tell me about how the use of caesura affects the pace?

Hint: which suggests

Answer 16

‘Anchor.Kite

• Armitage’s use of singular worded sentences slow the poem down, which suggests the speaker may be feeling thoughtful and reflective.
• Anchor and kite show the conflict in the speaker’s life- he is experiencing confusion towards his mother + his beginning to gain indepence.
• the imagery of an anchor and a kite implies the mother is preventing the son from flying away. (and gaining indepedence).

Question 17

What can you tell me about the title of ‘Mother, any distance ?’

Answer 17

• L= caesura- foreshadows the whole of the poem, as it links to ‘distance’ [the abstract noun].
• ; the use of ‘mother’ instead of mum, could suggest how the son wants to become independent and ‘fly’, yet his mother doesn’t want to as she still holds onto ‘one hundredth of an inch’- this highlights how serious the son is, about gaining his own independence
• I= on the contrary, the phrase ‘mother’ has associations of something that is beyond human beings/mankind, since it has connotations of something that is nurturing and caring. For example, in the animal world, it has associations of caring Aswell.
• So by deliberately beginning the start at the poem with ‘Mother’, it has a hint of someone who is designed to be ‘maternal’ and protective.

Question 18

What can you tell be about the use of sonnet form, in Mother any distance ?

Answer 18

• mother, any distance is rooted and bases on the form of a sonnet, yet it has an extra line- perhaps it suggests she has to let her son go and have independence, since this is beyond the limits of her, and childhood- the speaker is growing up.
• The mother’s limits in this poem are to be protective and caring, therefore this is further than her own limits.

Question 19

What else can you tell be about the use of sonnet form, in Mother any distance ?

Answer 19

• ; it’s also interesting to note that the poem is taken from the book of matches. Each poem was mean to be quick and brief to read, likewise to how long it takes for a match to burn down.
• So perhaps this reflects how brief and quick the speaker leaving his mother should be, but she has resistance to it, therefore it’s being extended- is this highlighting how the mother is suffering, since she doesn’t want the speaker to leave.

Question 21

‘greater than a single span’

Answer 21

• a span is a measurement of space, from one extended hand to each other and is a very small distance- perhaps this suggestive of how the speaker needs his mother, similar to how she needs the speaker as well- she relies on the speaker, in her emotional anguish.
• there is also a contrast between ‘distance’, ‘greater’ and ‘single span’- perhaps this is suggestive of how the speaker is trying to gain his own independence and grow up; he is binded/tied to his mother- highlighted through the use of the extended metaphor, which is remiscent of an umblical cord.
• aswell as the physical ‘tape’.

Question 21

‘centimetres back to base’

Answer 21

• the noun ‘base’ is metaphorical; it alls means the fundamental part of something, perhaps suggesting that the speaker’s mother is a fundamental base and ‘anchor’ who stabilises him.

Question 22

What else can you comment on about the quote ‘centimetres back to base’.

Answer 22

• it seems that ‘base’ contrasts with ‘spool’ as it sounds like something disorderly and chaotic; it also suggests that without a ‘base’ [his mother], the speaker will drift
• this idea is reinforced by ‘unreeling’ the years between the mother and the speaker, symbolises time- it highlights how long the speaker has known his mother for.

Question 23

‘leaving, unreeling’

Answer 23

• L= enjambement- at the end of the line, highlights the ever growing distance between the speaker and his mother.
• Moreover, there is a line break after the verb ‘leaving’, in the sixth line yet there is enjambement, as the line is not end stopped- suggesting the speaker wants to be indepedent, but is still emotionally attached.

I= ; it could perhaps reflect the speaker growing up, or alternatively, it could also reflect how time is passing.

• this is once again reminiscent of an umbilical cord, perhaps reinforcing Armitage’s message: mothers [and parents] have to let their children go and grow up

Question 24

What can you tell me about the extended metaphor of a tape in Mother, any distance ?

Answer 24

• the extended metaphor of a tape, is representative of an umbilical cord; it reflects the child’s journey- the speaker’s journey, as the tape is connected to years.
• the mother and the speaker are still connected as she is a ‘anchor’ and ‘kite’. This is also highlighted, when the mother is still holding on to one hundredth of an inch.