Simon Armitage - Mother Any Distance Flashcards
1
Q
What is the poem about?
A
- The narrator’s mother comes to the house he’s moving into to help measure things like the walls and doors.
- She holds the end of the tape measure while he walks away to measure things. It makes the narrator think about how his mother has always looked after him, but now she has to let him go.
- The narrator is looking forward to being independent, but he’s also scared by it, he doesn’t know if he’ll succeed without his mother or not, there are hints that she’ll always be there for him if he needs her though.
2
Q
Give a brief synopsis of the poem
A
- The speaker introduces the situation: he has moved into a new house and his mother has come round to help him measure the house for furniture, etc.
- He reflects on the distance between them and how he feels about his connection to his mother.
- He considers whether he will succeed on this next step in his life, or whether he will fail.
3
Q
When was the poet born?
A
- 1963
4
Q
When was the poem published?
A
- 1993
5
Q
Context regarding Simon Armitage
A
- In 2019, Armitage became the new Poet Laureate, following Carol Ann Duffy in the post.
- He is a playwright and novelist as well as a poet, and attended the University of Manchester as well as studying in Portsmouth.
- He has worked in a number of occupations, and his poetry often relates back to his Yorkshire heritage (Armitage was born in Huddersfield) and often focuses on relatable situations in order to resonate with and engage the reader.
6
Q
Context regarding “Book of Matches”
A
- This is a collection of poems which are all designed to be read in the brief time it took for a match to burn out, and most of the poems are around the length of a sonnet.
7
Q
“Mother, any distance greater than a single span”
“requires a second pair of hands.”
A
- By addressing his mother as “mother” rather than a more informal name may suggest the speaker is trying to mature and place distance between him and his mother - makes it more personal - like a letter or personal message to her
- The slight internal rhyme to this pair of lines creates an intimate, lonely sense to start the poem. - it emphasises how close he is to his mother, both literally and figuratively, and sets up the titular figure of the mother as very protective
- A ‘single span’ is the distance between his outstretched hands, he needs help to measure anything larger than that, despite it being a relatively small distance, which shows that his mother is still quite important to him.
8
Q
“You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors,”
A
- Whilst the addresses “you” and “me” are physically separated in this line, the sentiment of it suggests the reliance the son has on his mother
- “doors” and “floors” rhyme, but “span” and “hands” are only a half-rhyme, this shows the dislocation between the narrator and his mother.
9
Q
“the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors.”
A
- The metaphors and hyperbole create images of vast, open spaces, which hints at adventure and exploration, but also that the narrator feels slightly daunted by the size of it all.
10
Q
“You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording”
“length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base, then leaving”
A
- “Zero-end” references the limit of the tape measure - narrator mother’s holding the start of the tape measure reflects how she was the start fro him, starting from birth
- Semantic field of measurement may be symbolic of measuring the time and memories the pair have shared together
- “Back to base” - his mother is at the base, symbolic of home, of the tape measure, may imply them have now more of an emotional connection between them rather than sharing the same house
- The tape measure may also be symbolic of the umbilical cord, a physical connection between the mother and son which has now been lost
11
Q
“up the stairs, the line still feeding out, unreeling”
A
- “up the stairs” - shows he is moving away from his mother physically as well as emotionally.
- “unreeling // years” - enjambment displays both the mother and son attempting to move on pr the tape measure reflects their shared history, with the enjambment reflecting how they’ve crossed into a new phase of their relationship.
12
Q
“years between us. Anchor. Kite.”
A
- Contrasting images of anchor and kite to highlight confusion he is experiencing as to his feelings towards his mother and his increasing independence - the conflict between these parts of his life
- Singular worded sentences slow pace hinting that he may be feeling thoughtful and
- “Anchor. Kite” - narrator is a kite, starting to fly, but his mother keeps him anchored and secure. The two one-word sentences slow the pace of the poem, which suggests that the narrator feels apprehensive and thoughtful.
13
Q
“I space-walk through the empty bedrooms, climb”
A
- The space metaphor reflects how he feels that being on his own is an exciting adventure, but it is also scary. It emphasises that this is a new experience for him.
14
Q
“the ladder to the loft, to breaking point, where something”
“has to give;”
A
- Shows the reader that the narrator believes that his relationship with his mother needs to change, he’s trying to move out, but she wants to hold onto him.
15
Q
“two floors below your fingertips still pinch”
A
- The use of “pinch” implies the mother is desperate to hold onto her son, but it also suggests pain, they both know that if she doesn’t let go, she’ll end up hurting.
16
Q
“the last one-hundredth of an inch … I reach”
A
- The ellipsis could reflect how the tape is being stretched out, or it may suggest that his mother has finally let go of the tape.
17
Q
“towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky”
“to fall or fly”
A
- Hatch may symbolise the freedom offered to him through the process of growing up
- Left of the word “fly” which suggests a positive ending
- Rhyming structure is implemented in final two lines, “sky” and “fly”, which may suggest harmony and a return to certainty after his period of reflection
- The use of bird imagery suggests how he’s hatched and is now flying the nest, he doesn’t know whether he’ll be alright without his mother, the shortness of the lines of “has to give” and “to fall or fly.” emphasise their message.
- ‘endless sky’ The narrator feels as though there’s no limit to the opportunities open to him, they can’t be measured like the walls or floors of his house, his optimism contrasts to the uncertainty of the final line.
