SUMMARY:
Comparing lives of two people. – one who lives in the city
Letters from and one who lives in the rural. They write letters to each
other sharing their lives.
The voice appears jealous of his life, questioning whether
Yorkshire by Maura
QUOTES: his is ‘more real’, though she thinks he would say
otherwise its clear that is how she feels.
‘You out there in the cold… me … feeding words onto It is apparent that they both enjoy each other’s letters
a blank page’ CONTEXT:
‘You’ shifts focus to the friend, increasing intimacy
Writer was Cornish and lived in Bristol as a kid, moved to
Contrasting the two lives
Yorkshire and then to London. Poem reflects the disparity
Seems underwhelmed with her life ‘blank’
suggesting dull/ empty life/mundane between rural and urban life. Her other poems also contain
Especially compared to him. His knuckles theme of communication.
are described as ‘singing’- seems a lot
more joyous THEMES:
Monosyllabic words reflecting the simplicity of his
Long distance links Love
life
Nature Admiration
‘screen’ computer shows contrast between
Strong bond Longing
professions
‘Is your life more real because you dig and sow?’ SETTING:
Rhetorical Question and Direct Adress reflects the
poems focus Comparison of outside and inside, Images mostly rural
Asking herself is his life better/more to it Uses nature to explore what makes her happy
Suggests the shift society has been through
moving from outside work to inside STRUCTURE:
Longing to share his life
Written in 5 tercets (3-line verse) w/ many run-on lines
first 4 are about separate lives but the final one brings
‘Still, it’s you who sends me word/ of that other world
them together, indicating their letters unite them
pouring air and light into an envelope’
Form is steady throughout creating a sense of measured
Colloquial speech speaker chatting to a friend
pacing
Communicating
Continuous enjambment between stanzas hints that
Enjambment reinforces connection between the
speaker isn’t interested in making her thoughts match
two
poetic form, also makes up for lack of rhyme scheme.
‘air and light’ -> semantic field of nature
Caesura is used to show separation between the two
creates image that rural world is
people (comma in between pronouns ‘me’ and ‘his’ in
contained in an envelope, creating a
first stanza)
bridge between speaker and person
Half rhyme (‘digging’/’singing’) shows fractured
‘world’ and ‘word’ alliteration and assonance
relationship
Words sound similar but different
Most lines use 5 stresses showing a natural conversation.
showing difference between their two
lives
COMMPARISON:
Walking away: both have strong ties despite separation, both depict nature, birds, distance
Follower: celebration of agriculture and connection with outside world. Poetic voices longing to be closer
Climbing my grandfather: clear comparison with distances covered and journeys made (poetic voice/ letters)
Mother any distance:
Similarities Differences
In both poems the characters employ The gap in LFY is the people becoming closer despite their distance / in MAD the
unconventional means to maintain a good people are moving apart (shown using extended metaphor of a tape measure
relationship unreeling like the years between them)
Comparing lives of two people. – one who lives in the city
Letters from and one who lives in the rural. They write letters to each
other sharing their lives.
The voice appears jealous of his life, questioning whether
Yorkshire by Maura
QUOTES: his is ‘more real’, though she thinks he would say
otherwise its clear that is how she feels.
‘You out there in the cold… me … feeding words onto It is apparent that they both enjoy each other’s letters
a blank page’ CONTEXT:
‘You’ shifts focus to the friend, increasing intimacy
Writer was Cornish and lived in Bristol as a kid, moved to
Contrasting the two lives
Yorkshire and then to London. Poem reflects the disparity
Seems underwhelmed with her life ‘blank’
suggesting dull/ empty life/mundane between rural and urban life. Her other poems also contain
Especially compared to him. His knuckles theme of communication.
are described as ‘singing’- seems a lot
more joyous THEMES:
Monosyllabic words reflecting the simplicity of his
Long distance links Love
life
Nature Admiration
‘screen’ computer shows contrast between
Strong bond Longing
professions
‘Is your life more real because you dig and sow?’ SETTING:
Rhetorical Question and Direct Adress reflects the
poems focus Comparison of outside and inside, Images mostly rural
Asking herself is his life better/more to it Uses nature to explore what makes her happy
Suggests the shift society has been through
moving from outside work to inside STRUCTURE:
Longing to share his life
Written in 5 tercets (3-line verse) w/ many run-on lines
first 4 are about separate lives but the final one brings
‘Still, it’s you who sends me word/ of that other world
them together, indicating their letters unite them
pouring air and light into an envelope’
Form is steady throughout creating a sense of measured
Colloquial speech speaker chatting to a friend
pacing
Communicating
Continuous enjambment between stanzas hints that
Enjambment reinforces connection between the
speaker isn’t interested in making her thoughts match
two
poetic form, also makes up for lack of rhyme scheme.
‘air and light’ -> semantic field of nature
Caesura is used to show separation between the two
creates image that rural world is
people (comma in between pronouns ‘me’ and ‘his’ in
contained in an envelope, creating a
first stanza)
bridge between speaker and person
Half rhyme (‘digging’/’singing’) shows fractured
‘world’ and ‘word’ alliteration and assonance
relationship
Words sound similar but different
Most lines use 5 stresses showing a natural conversation.
showing difference between their two
lives
COMMPARISON:
Walking away: both have strong ties despite separation, both depict nature, birds, distance
Follower: celebration of agriculture and connection with outside world. Poetic voices longing to be closer
Climbing my grandfather: clear comparison with distances covered and journeys made (poetic voice/ letters)
Mother any distance:
Similarities Differences
In both poems the characters employ The gap in LFY is the people becoming closer despite their distance / in MAD the
unconventional means to maintain a good people are moving apart (shown using extended metaphor of a tape measure
relationship unreeling like the years between them)
