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Theme Of Mother Any Distance Greater Than A Single Spann

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The poem Mother, Any Distance Greater Than a Single Span, written by Simon Armitage, is about a child and his relationship with his mother. Throughout the poem, we see their connection naturally develop and change. As the child gets older and becomes more independent he wants to leave the ‘birds nest’, yet the mother doesn’t want to fully let go. Armitage successfully uses the language features of symbolism, metaphor, and rhyme to influence me into feeling love, sadness, and hope towards the mother throughout the poem.

In Mother, Any Distance Greater Than a Single Span, author Simon Armitage uses symbolism to shape my thoughts and feelings towards the mother. In the first stanza, Armitage uses this technique to show the son’s emotions towards …show more content…

In the second stanza, he writes, “You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape”. This creates an allusion to when a mother and their child is connected by the umbilical cord right after birth. This connection is fleeting, but truly symbolizes the intense level of connection which the mother has for their child. After carrying their fetus inside of them for nine months, living off their own blood and nutrients, the physical connection between the mother and child is exposed. I lovingly think of it as an announcement to the world of the mother’s commitment to the child, and the beginning of a human’s lifer. This caused me to feel joy towards the mother, as I am once again reminded at how beautiful the maternal bond is. Armitage therefore portrays the idea that mothers have connections with their children that no one else can compare with, but they must all learn to trust that their child will come back to her when they need …show more content…

Throughout every stanza in the poem, they all have a part where rhyme links into it. In stanza one, the rhyme is found at the end of each sentence, “span…hands…doors…floors…” This is a very simple rhyme, which links back to the relationship of the mother and child. This rhyme shows the beginnings of the mother helping her child and creating a bond. This influenced the mother as she was able to help her child and be close with her son. This inspires me to feel gratitude towards the mother, as it shows that she is helpful, always there and willing to help her son. I suppose I appreciate this mother’s dedication, as in this society, it is rare to find such commitment mothers or fathers. Being present and supportive can go far for your child. Therefore, the first stanza uses rhyme in order to influence the audiences’ feeling about the mother. The second stanza also creates a rhyme at the end of each sentence, “recording… leaving… unreeling…” These are similar to the first stanza but have the same “ing” sound at the end of each word. The second stanza also goes into depth about the bigger objects and the distance between the mother and child’s relationship becoming further apart. Both stanza one and two show the development of the

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