Simon Armitage 'Mother Any Distance Greater Than A Single Span'

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The poem “Mother, any distance greater than a single span” written by Simon Armitage discusses about the distance of a mother and son relationship as the child enters adulthood. The author suggest that entering adulthood is can be frightening and about whether or not if you going to succeed, but adulthood can give you opportunities and independence. Simon Armitage uses techniques of metaphors, symbolism and hyperbole to help convey those messages. Simon Armitage uses metaphors to help describe this mother and son relationship. The metaphors describe the relationship becoming distant and that the mother is not ready to let her son go. An example of a metaphor in this poem is “unreeling years between us.” The mother and son were measuring the …show more content…

The symbols help describe Armitage’s message of that the parent is always there for the child and that adulthood can give you independence. For example; “Anchor. Kite.” the anchor symbolises the mother as she has to stay grounded for the child as if she is a safety net to go back to. This is because the mother is seen as a fixed point in an uncertain world. The kite symbolises the son as he must soar in adulthood in order to succeed. But the kite must rely on the anchor to not fly away in the wrong direction, although this may bring security but may also limit his freedom to fly. This quote made me think about my relationship with my parents as they let me be independent, but I can rely on them if I ever need help in a situation. Simon Armitage also uses a tape measure for symbolism. Each centimetre represent the year of the child. The older he gets the relationship becomes distant, but he gets more independence. This symbol relates to me as each I get older the more independence I get, for example driving a car. I believe that Simon Armitage successfully uses symbolism to convey a message to the reader that parents are always a safety net to go back

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