Select at least three poems from 'that old rope' that convey a strong bond between parents and children.
Shaun Sargeant Page
Select at least three poems from ‘that old rope’ that convey a strong bond between parents and children.
For this coursework the three poems I will be choosing ‘Catrin’ by Gillian Clarke, 17th century poem ‘upon my son Samuel his going to England, Novem, 6.1657’ by Ann Bradstreet and Vernon Scannels ‘nettles.’ In each of these poems I will see if each shows a strong bond between parent and child. Each poem gets its message across in different ways by the use of metaphors or putting it in the form of a prayer, like ‘Nettles’ and ‘Catrin.’
‘Catrin’ is a long thin poem that is rhythmically constructed but with no straight forward pattern of rhyme. It is divided into two stanzas, with the first detailing the birth of the poets daughter and the second in the present time. The pause between them makes us wonder what took place in the intervening years. The poet uses many poetic devices such as alliteration, metaphors and enjambment. The poem begins in the labour ward of the ‘hot, white and sterile hospital,’ which contrasts with the intimate event which is happening to the poet. Before the birth, the poet looks out of the window to see ‘people and cars’ carrying on there lives as normal when she is experiencing the most momentous event of here life. The ‘tight red rope of love’ represents the umbilical cord. It is red because or the blood that flowed between the mother and child in the womb; but also red represents the colour of love and passion and it contrasts with the stark, white surroundings of the hospitals. On the next line it says that the mother and child ‘fought over’ the cord. The verb ‘fought’ suggests the brutality of childbirth. You get very sensory imagery about the birth when the poet says ‘I wrote all over the walls with my words.’ Both mother and child are changed are ‘changed’ by theses experiences: the poet becomes a mother of a child, someone upon a tiny baby depended. ‘Catrin’ became a child, yet still dependant upon her mother- but less so than when she was in the womb. The poet describes ‘Catrin’ with alliteration such as ‘with your strong, straight, long hair.’ During the poem ‘Catrin’ you get the suggestion that there is a strong bond between parent and child but there is still conflict between the two as it mentions words such as ‘defiant’ and ‘conflict.’
