11.1.2
Themes
Measuring Tape
Measuring Tape
In Mother, Any Distance, the measuring tape becomes a metaphor for the relationship between mother and son.
Symbols?
Symbols?
- There are several possible interpretations of what the measuring tape could represent.
- It might be symbolic of the passage of time, as the son grows up - ‘the line still feeding out, unreeling years between us. Anchor. Kite’.
- But it could also represent an umbilical cord (the cord that joins a mother and child in the womb) that once connected them.
Growing up
Growing up
- The poem also explores the process of growing up and letting go through the measuring tape metaphor.
- The mother is at the zero–end - she is the fixed point at the beginning of the narrator's life, and he must now make the decision to move on, but risk the unknown outcome of adulthood.
Instability
Instability
The poem explores the narrator's feelings of instability as he has to leave the security of childhood and grow up.
Hyperbole
Hyperbole
- The narrator uses hyperbole (exaggeration) when he describes the past distance between them – although he is only moving around a house, he uses words like ‘acres’ and ‘prairies’.
- This perhaps shows how worried the narrator is about growing up and leaving his mother behind.
- The final line voices his concerns about whether he will 'fall or fly' - two dramatic extremes.
Thin connection
Thin connection
- The measuring tape also represents a thin and fragile connection.
- This hints at the distance between the mother and son and the instability in their relationship, as the narrator stretches further and further away from his mother.
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
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1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
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