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Year 10
AQA

Understanding 'Mother, any distance'

I can explain how Armitage presents the distance that emerges within the parental relationship over time.

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New
New
Year 10
AQA

Understanding 'Mother, any distance'

I can explain how Armitage presents the distance that emerges within the parental relationship over time.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Armitage describes a mother helping her son move into his own home as he reaches adulthood.
  2. The speaker’s new home seems huge and expansive, emphasising the growing distance between mother and child.
  3. The speaker builds on the emotional distance between the mother and son as their physical distance increases.
  4. Both speaker and subject seem apprehensive about the son's upcoming independence.
  5. The poem comes from ‘Books of Matches’, reflecting on ephemeral moments that make a deep impression.

Common misconception

This poem is written in the form of a sonnet: it has 14 lines and a regular rhyme scheme.

This poem does not strictly follow the sonnet form but does use many of its conventions. It contains 15, not 14 lines and doesn't use a regular rhyme scheme. It does however end with a rhyming couplet and uses iambic pentameter in places.

Keywords

  • Ephemeral - short-lived, fleeting, lasting for a brief time

  • Subordinate clause - part of a sentence that adds detail but cannot stand alone

  • Embedded - enclosed successfully within another structure

  • Temporal - relating to the passing of time

  • Sonnet - a traditional form of love poetry, famous for its strict rhythmic rules

Explore Armitage's use of sonnet form by comparing this poem to another famous sonnet (perhaps Shakespeare's famous Sonnet 18). Read both poems aloud and clap out the syllable rhythms so students can begin to hear the difference in rhythm.
Teacher tip

Equipment

AQA Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Read this sentence: 'After the match, Heidi went home to rest her aching muscles'. Which fragment below is the dependent clause?
Correct answer: After the match
Heidi went home to rest her aching muscles
muscles
After
to rest her aching mcles
Q2.
'Mother, any distance' focuses on the relationship between a mother and her son. We could describe this relationship as...
romantic
Correct answer: parental
extramarital
Correct answer: familial
Q3.
When writing analysis paragraphs, you should be led by...
key quotations
the writer's use of methods
Correct answer: inferences and interpretations of the text
contextual knowledge
Q4.
Which of these 'rules' can you apply to the sonnet form?
Correct answer: 14 lines long
Correct answer: usually consist of three quatrains (4-line stanzas) and a couplet (2 lines)
made up of 5 tercets (3-line stanzas)
Correct answer: uses iambic pentameter
traditionally written about death and loss
Q5.
Which of these sentences is written in iambic pentameter?
A bird sings a melody, filling the air with its sweet song.
The wind whispers secrets through the rustling leaves of the trees.
The stars twinkle brightly in the dark sky above us.
Correct answer: The moon's soft glow upon the ocean's crest.
The mountains stand tall, watching over the valley below.
Q6.
Effective analysis will...
stick to one main analysis of the poem
include links to contextual knowledge in every paragraph
Correct answer: consider multiple interpretations of the text
Correct answer: include contextual knowledge only where it is relevant to the main argument
Correct answer: use tentative language to indicate personal interpretations

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does the word 'ephemeral' mean?
long, drawn out, extended
spontaneous, unexpected
impending, destined to be
Correct answer: short-lived, fleeting
Q2.
Which type of distance found in 'Mother, any distance' is missing from this list? '__________, emotional, generational and temporal.
romantic
platonic
Correct answer: physical
aesthetic
Q3.
'Mother, any distance' is about...
a mother and son sorting through old photo albums
a young son, climbing his mother's body
Correct answer: a mother helping her son to move into his own home
a son, remembering how he used to help his mother with DIY tasks
a young mother, reflecting on whether or not she was ready for motherhood
Q4.
Which of these sentences uses an embedded subordinate clause?
The coffee from that shop tastes delicious.
The sun was setting, and the stars began to appear in the night sky.
The cat meowed loudly, waiting by the door for its owner to return.
Correct answer: The cat, who always sleeps on the windowsill, enjoys the warmth of the sun.
The tree with green leaves swayed gently in the breeze.
Q5.
Which of these words from the final stanza of 'Mother, any distance' symbolises the man's independence?
"empty"
"ladder"
Correct answer: "fly"
"hatch"
"endless"
Q6.
'Mother, any distance' is found in a collection of poems called 'Books of Matches'. The title of the collections links to...
a book of matches Armitage found in a hotel as a child
Correct answer: a game where players tell anecdotes in the time it takes for a match to burn
the speaker's yearning to set things on fire
the title of Armitage's autobiography
a book of matches given to him by his mother