Starter quiz
- When we look for similarities and differences between two or more things we are ...
- evaluating
- comparing ✓
- summarising
-
- The poem 'Mother, any distance' by Simon Armitage is about ...
- a son helping his mother move home.
- a mother helping her son move home. ✓
- a mother and son's relationship breaking down.
-
- The poem 'Follower' by Seamus Henaey is written from the perspective of...
- a son. ✓
- a father.
- an omniscient narrator.
-
- 'Walking Away' explores...
- a child gaining independence ✓
- seasons changing
- a loved one breaking up with someone
-
- Define the word 'ephemeral'.
- brief or transitory in nature ✓
- to suppress or suffocate
- a particular outlook on events
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- A particular interpretation or outlook on situations and events is known as a ______.
- 'perspective' ✓
Exit quiz
- Comparison involves looking at similarities and ______.
- 'differences' ✓
- Match the keywords with their definitions.
- perspective⇔a particular interpretation or outlook on a situation ✓
- reversal⇔transition to an opposite direction or outcome ✓
- ephemeral⇔brief or transitory in nature; fleeting ✓
- stifle⇔suppress or suffocate ✓
- separation⇔act of isolating or setting apart distinct entities ✓
- Which poems from the 'Love and Relationships' anthology are written from the perspective of a child thinking about their parent?
- 'Mother, any distance' ✓
- 'Walking Away'
- 'Follower' ✓
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- Which of these poems from the 'Love and Relationships' anthology depict a moment of separation?
- 'Mother, any distance' ✓
- 'Walking Away' ✓
- 'Follower'
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- Match the quotation with the poem it's from.
- 'Mother, any distance'⇔"anchor" ✓
- 'Walking Away'⇔"half-fledged" ✓
- 'Follower'⇔"stumbled" ✓
- What do the speakers of 'Mother, any distance', 'waking Away' and 'Follower' all have in common?
- they focus on a parent-child relationship ✓
- they are from the perspective of a child
- they capture a moment in the speaker’s life ✓
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- All three poets reflect on the fluid and changing dynamics of parental relationships.
- All three poems explore the lasting effect ephemeral moments can have on a person.
- Armitage and Heaney use the child's perspective whereas Day-Lewis uses the parent's perspective.
- Armitage and Day-Lewis focus on a moment of separation whereas Heaney incorporates a reversal of roles.
- ‘Walking Away’ and ‘Follower’ reminisce on an important moment from the speaker’s past.
Common misconception
In 'Mother, any distance', the 'child' figure yearns for independence while the parent isn't ready to let them go.
It is possible to interpret the poem in this way but it is also possible to infer that the speaker feels nervous about the prospect of their independence, worrying whether they will succeed or "fall".
Keywords
Perspective - a particular interpretation or outlook on situations and events
Reversal - transition to an opposite direction or outcome
Ephemeral - brief or transitory in nature; fleeting
Stifle - suppress or suffocate; inhibit the development or expression of something
Separation - act of isolating or setting apart distinct entities
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