Friday 8 April 2011

...It's An Accessible Art

"People can't put on an opera, but they can write a poem.  It's an accessible art."

This quotation from Simon Armitage is illustrative of his belief that poetry is for everyone.  As we have seen through our classroom studies Armitage's work deals with universal human themes; we have all been able to find a relation between Armitage's work and our own experiences.

It shouldn't be difficult for you to respond intelligently to the Armitage poems on the exam.

Remember the importance of close analysis though and of reponding to the poems on a word level.  Remember also the importance of using embedded quotation.

Embedded Quotation

Example

The central image in the poem 'Mother any distance greater than a single span...' is that of the tape measure that the poet employs with his mother in the measurement of the dimensions of aspects of his new accommodation.  The metaphor of the tape measure represents the connection between mother and son.  As they take the measurements the physical distance between the poet and his mother becomes greater until he holds onto the 'last one hundredth of an inch' of tape and until the mother's fingertips 'pinch' at the end of the tape.  The poet, through this metaphor, is illustrating how the poet and the mother feel about the changes that are occurring in their relationship with one another.  The words 'last one hundredth of an inch' suggest that the son's gaining of his independance is timely; that perhaps he has delayed making this move; whilst the word 'pinch' suggests a reluctance in the mother to release the connection.  It is my opinion that the relationship between mother and son changes, rather than weakens, with incresed independence.

Try embedding these words and phrases from the poem into your own paragraphs about the poem.

"reporting...back to base."
"hatch that opens on an endless sky"
"to fall or fly"

Have a go at it in some postings!