Flashcards for Mother, any distance

The Mother

The mother is a mostly unspoken yet emotionally vital figure in Simon Armitage's poem "Mother, any Distance."

character

The Speaker (Son)

The Speaker serves as the first-person narrator and the only active voice in Simon Armitage's poem "Mother, any Distance," which takes the form of a domestic dramatic monologue.

character

“Mother, any distance greater than a single span requires a second pair of hands.”

This opening line is delivered by the poem's speaker — a young adult child — as they address their mother directly.

The speaker (the poet's persona / adult child) · Mother, Any Distance (full poem)

“You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base.”

This line is from Simon Armitage's poem "Mother, any distance greater than a single span," often referred to as "Mother any Distance," from his 1993 collection Book of Matches.

The speaker (the poet's persona / adult child) · Mother, any distance greater than a single span (Book of Matches, 1993)

“I space-walk through the empty bedrooms, climb the ladder to the loft, to breaking point, where something has to give.”

This quote is from "Mother, any Distance," a poem by British poet Simon Armitage, featured in his 1993 collection Book of Matches.

The poetic speaker (adult child) · Mother, any Distance (poem from Book of Matches, 1993)

“Two floors below your fingertips still pinch the last one-hundredth of an inch.”

This line is from Simon Armitage's poem "Mother, any distance greater than a single span," often referred to by its shorter title "Mother any Distance," which appeared in his 1993 collection Book of Matches.

The speaker (son)

“I reach towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky to fall or fly.”

"Mother Any Distance" is a poem by Simon Armitage, featured in his 1993 collection Book of Matches.

The narrator / adult child (autobiographical speaker)

“You've been helping me measure windows, pelmets, doors.”

This line is spoken by the speaker of the poem (the adult child) to their mother in Simon Armitage's "Mother, any distance greater than a single span," a sonnet from his 1993 collection Book of Matches.

The speaker (adult child)

The Anchor

In Simon Armitage's sonnet "Mother, any distance greater than a single span," the anchor symbolizes the mother's dual role of love and restraint.

The Kite String / Unreeling Thread

In Simon Armitage's sonnet "Mother, any distance greater than a single span," the kite string or the unwinding thread of the tape measure symbolizes the connection between mother and child—acting both as a lifeline and a constraint.

The Open Window / Hatch

In Simon Armitage's sonnet "Mother, any distance," the open window or hatch at the top of the new house signifies the boundary between dependence and independence.

The Tape Measure

In Simon Armitage's sonnet "Mother, any distance greater than a single span," the tape measure represents the bond between mother and child—it’s both a connection of love and a sign of growing independence.

Extended Metaphor

The poem revolves around a single extended metaphor: using a tape measure to gauge a house symbolizes the emotional relationship between a mother and her child.

Sonnet

The poem takes on a loose, almost Shakespearean sonnet form with fourteen lines, but Armitage approaches it with his usual casual style.

Volta

The poem's turn happens when the speaker transitions from a shared, ground-level perspective to an ascent alone: 'I space-walk through the empty bedrooms, climb / the ladder to the loft.'

Symbolism

The tape measure serves as the poem's main symbol, representing the umbilical cord and the connection between parent and child.

Imagery

Armitage shifts from the familiar comforts of home to the vastness of the universe with a series of increasingly grand images.

Enjambment

Armitage employs enjambment throughout to embody the very unreeling the poem depicts.

Metaphor

Beyond the main extended metaphor, the poem features multiple smaller metaphors.

Assonance

Assonance weaves together the poem's sound texture without enforcing a rigid rhyme scheme.

Apostrophe

The poem directly addresses the mother with the line, 'Mother, any distance greater than a single span / requires a second pair of hands,' creating an apostrophe that engages with a character present in the poem but not in the reader's reality.

Alliteration

Alliteration pops up at important moments to highlight the poem's main themes.

Juxtaposition

Armitage contrasts the everyday with the vastness of the cosmos throughout the poem.

Motif

The motif of measurement—of distance, span, and the 'one hundredth of an inch'—is woven throughout the poem.

skirting board

A narrow strip of wood fixed along the bottom of an interior wall where it meets the floor, used here as the fixed starting point for the tape measure.

noun · Chapter 1

spool

A cylindrical reel around which a length of tape or thread is wound; here it holds the tape measure that the speaker unrolls as he moves through the house.

noun · Chapter 1

reels

Pulls or winds back onto a reel; here used figuratively to suggest the speaker is drawing the past years back toward himself as he unspools the tape.

verb · Chapter 1

hatch

A small hinged door or opening in a ceiling or roof, typically giving access to a loft or the outside; here it is the skylight the speaker pushes open at the top of the house.

noun · Chapter 1

Anchor

Something or someone that holds a thing firmly in place and prevents it from drifting; here it describes the mother, who stays fixed at one end of the tape and keeps the speaker grounded.

noun · Chapter 1

Kite

A light frame flown in the wind on a long string, always pulling upward and outward; here it describes the speaker, who is straining toward freedom while still tethered to his mother.

noun · Chapter 1