Simon Armitage: 'Mother, Any Distance' Mr Bruff Analysis

[@vincentcsmith102]

mr bruff is saving my GCSEs

[@mrbruff]

good

[@thatoneguy5481]

vincent c smith I agree

[@pmkvgs8817]

same

[@adamsharp3349]

Not even mr bluff can save me

[@erinbond9156]

Quick tip if you want to watch this quicker, speed it up by 1.25 or 1.5 :)

[@NomanKhan-bd4st]

or 1.75 or if ur rllly smart 2x

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that is the knowledge

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you are a genius

[@louiekroberts]

This 20 minute video taught me more than my teacher did 2 1-hour lessons... thank you!

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mrbruff was saving my GCSE's until they got cancelled

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for real same here aha

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cuz of corrona?

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@@ks_2262 nah the plague

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lucky

[@Ami-wt8fk]

I've improved in my English so much thanks to you, I've gone from a C to an A grade in just 3 weeks. My teacher even accused me of cheating because of how much I had improved so I told her how I revise and she's told my whole year about you. Thank you so much!

[@mrbruff]

amazing!

[@lilyyoung4360]

Literally watched this last night and it came up today. Mr Bruff you're a legend.

[@samagate4459]

fr

[@farzanabegum6800]

Helped me so much you can't even imagine. It has details that I didn't even learn in class. Thanks so much!!!!

[@farradehmartin2749]

who else is procrastinating in the comments section?

[@Frogbreath]

Breh

[@_Queen_Jasmin]

Meee :)

[@JesusChrist-ch2dk]

I was too late.

[@manunited6602]

I acc cba w this

[@daliagrantham8423]

I’m in y10 and having to do all the poems at home, and your videos are really helping me. Thank you

[@mrbruff]

Glad to help!

[@nz1159]

Im in y10 too but they didnt make us do any of our anthology poems at home . but i thought i would start doing some . so i did this one today.

[@nz1159]

@@mrbruff Love your videos but they are quite long , if you dont mind can you make shorter clips including notes and highlighted important parts that we need for the anthology poems, to make everything easier and simpler . Thank u.

[@Jasmine_111]

This, among other videos meant that my poetry comparison question went SO well! I can't thank you enough. I was so stressed about English Literature and you made it beyond manageable! Thank-you🙏🏼

[@mrbruff]

+Jasmine KZbin good!

[@indigorosenhunt9789]

Thank you so much, I watched this a couple of nights before the exam and was without a doubt the most helpful video I had watched.

[@xishaqk]

This came up in the 2017 paper today! :)

[@jonathanmelia]

“Acres” and “prairies” could be interpreted as the promise of a “new world”. Much early American literature is all about the promise and romanticism of “wide open spaces” and striking out on your own, in the American Wilderness. Perhaps Armitage is presenting himself as a similar type of pioneer, which ties in with the image of the “space-walk”.

[@Incognito_ST]

GRADE 9 20 MARKER EXAMPLE FREE TO USE , WROTE IN EXAM CONDTIONS APOLOGIES FOR ANY GRAMMACTICAL ERRORS. In the poem, the writer has presented the relationship with the mother as two opposites that attract. They have very contrasting personalities that are bonded together like a "spool of tape". The mother is presented as a formal character that keeps her son grounded and gives a sense of structure in his life. We can see this as the poem is put in a AABB rhyme scheme throughout the play. This set structured rhyme scheme symbolizes how his mother keeps him structures throughout his life. She is the very thing keeping his safe and protected. This set of arrangement gives us a sense that she has set foundations in her sons life. The speaker clearly has a formal relationship with his mother as it isn't free verse or flowing. This sense of formality is even more emphasized as the write gives a direct address to his mother about how he is going to leave the "hatch" and go into the wide world. He used colloquial formal language of "mother" instead of a more loving connotating word of mummy or mum. This shows they have a very traditional relationship. We see her personality and the relationship being presented thorough the word "anchor" , the mother has been presented through the noun as someone who is grounded and firm. A anchor connotates to someone that protects her son and keeps him at bay. Like the anchor that protects the boat from getting lost in the waves and wind his mother is keeping him safe and protecting him from the world and society. A anchor is a important component in a boat signifying how important his mother is to him. This tells us that the mother is a figure in his life that is dear to him someone that has protected him and gave him a sense of structure in his life. This tells us that the speaker and his relationship of him and his mother is a figure of formality , structure, importance and is someone who has protected him and cared for him. She has kept him grounded in the relationship which contrasts with his idea of breaking free into the world. The writer shows the clashing of personality's in the relationship. The speaker is someone who is a "kite" and is opening a "hatch " into the "endless sky". The noun kite is a direct juxtaposition to anchor. The word endless signifies the boundlessness of the world he will enter into , its hyperbolic language is emphasizing what he is entering into to. He will either "fly or fall" the speaker is telling his mother that he understands what he is going to face and is reassuring her. The speaker is trying to fly high in the wind and sky but is being holded down by a string (his mother). He is being compared to like a kite a strong metaphor showing his personality trait as someone who is about to be free. The speaker wants to be released into the world, the very thing his mother is protecting him from. In doing so he is going to break the hatch and open the doors. This is a metaphorical representation of what he will do (leave his mother and go be by himself in the endless world). This tells us that the speaker is someone who is going to leave his mother and go break free into the world but he is reassuring the mother that he will be safe on the other end of the tape. This tells us that his relationship with his mother is tight knit together and close. He reassures her that even though they will be separated and he will be gone with the wind and float away he cares- even though he's moving on.

[@mialewis8474]

you’re saving my life

[@amydunderdale3654]

mr bruff, you’re a life saviour regarding english gcse’s !!

[@biancarai2097]

Oh my god. This will help me so much I think I am about to cry (and fall or fly)

[@yeetusmcfeetus6169]

wow thats so cool

[@emmac8495]

Thank you so much, your videos have helped me incredibly with my GCSE revision!

[@mrbruff]

no problem

[@g123-i5o]

mr bruff is the reason i'm passing English thanks !!

[@mrbruff]

+MYxLIFExASxAxTEEN happy to help

[@justshen2879]

13:00 wouldn't the shortest line be "has to give"?

[@johnroberts262]

I am an elderly retired man who enjoys these recordings greatly, I watch them and buy some of his e-books.

[@mrbruff]

Thank you!

[@riyaperuvelil221]

Do you have any tips on how to actually revise for poetry? Could you do a video on it?

[@mrbruff]

yes of course

[@MrBobbycat123]

These are going to help with my mocks tomorrow, luckily my teacher suggested them!

[@sweetprincess2990]

this helped me soooo much. thank you.

[@mrbruff]

+SweetpRincess great!

[@Akhan._.1512]

감사합니다 😊, 역시, bruff 님 너는 최고야!

[@raytrevor-p4j]

i really enjoyed this video great help and really gave me a good understanding of the poem thank you so very much mr Bruff

[@mrbruff]

Great!

[@rosie8642]

Thankyou!!! you have no idea how much this helped

[@mrbruff]

Great!

[@polyquadratus5304]

1:14 I spent so long trying to read this poem aloud in under 20 seconds that I've pretty much memorised it by accident...

[@Akhan._.1512]

Same and walking away lol 😅

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Mr Bruff is a godsend

[@t4teeee697]

absolute lad

[@henrybryant1075]

Good sir I would like to shake your hand, thank you!

[@t4teeee697]

*shake*

[@theSafetyCar]

Another great video. Thank you so so much!

[@pixelbro3327]

thank you for the help. this will defiantly help me prepare for my exam.

[@saimauddin5093]

Your videos are so helpfull, you wouldn't understand! I've been listening to each of your poetry videos this holiday and I'm thinking more into depth when reading poems, sometimes my predictions of what you say in the videos are true. Thank you so so much:)

[@mrbruff]

+Saima Uddin fantastic

[@h4lplays932]

I’m in year 9 and this analysis has certainly helped me during the exam period. Will certainly recommend to my fellow students :) also there are so many points in this that I am not sure where I can include in my KECAL paragraphs anyone got any ideas

[@samagate4459]

im in year 11 and i agree wholeheartedly

[@Oli_Pequeno]

I’ve been saved for my GCSE

[@elisegreen1227]

Ur saving my gcse's right now. I want to do my best but I just don't know how to analyse this poem. it's quite complex I feel

[@mrbruff]

good!

[@cheeseworld6057]

The poem starts using the ground floor to represent the start of the child's life. Falling out the hatch on the roof (failing at something in life) would bring the speaker back to the first floor again. This perhaps symbolises how the mother will look after the speaker after he fails and being a "mother" at "any distance".

[@annieen3884]

This video was so helpful! Thank you!!

[@AroojFatima-vu7hy]

Thank you so much you really are saving my GCSE’s

[@Dallimoo]

Sososososo glad my teacher was right in predicting it would be this poem and so glad I watched this last minute last night!!!

[@nazish5065]

how did she make the prediction when this was the first exam in the new spec lol?

[@ellieisabella5067]

saving gcse since 2016

[@ahmedbenhariz8694]

whats the difference between structure and form?

[@mrbruff]

Covered in my Literature playlist

[@outofthegoldfishbowletcete762]

Ahmed Benhariz form us what it looks like. Structure is where do different things happen. (Exposition - rising action - climax- falling action - denoument) or beginning/middle/end

[@elliottclark6547]

@@outofthegoldfishbowletcete762 thanks

[@leilamalik2412]

Another great video, thank you 👍🏼📝

[@mrbruff]

Thanks

[@Akhan._.1512]

I love how he replies to yours but ignores the others

[@minazalam6964]

Your videos help a lot, thanks, honestly. :)

[@Santiago-ct2rv]

Thanks for the help

[@بنتأنصار-ح4ذ]

Its says his poems are usually influenced by music - does this have any link to Mother Any Distance????

[@stingray_vinxen4610]

Umayyah Ali David Bowie’s Space Oddity

[@shampabanerjee4715]

Excellent analysis

[@ewandeeley4019]

what poem would you compare this too/

[@jacktibbles503]

Ewan Deeley winter swan

[@xiiv.emilia]

Ewan Deeley walking away

[@nazrinrahman6781]

YOU ARE SIMPLY AMAZING, can you give me some advice when writing essays, as I find it so hard to do

[@hasanlort1820]

Mr Bruff would it be possible if you could do a video on farmers bride?

[@skylaliberty267]

Do you have a book with annotations on all the love and relationship poems???

[@simranjeetsingh6879]

One thing I don't get with poetry is that what do you even write when the mark scheme says talk about context. I bought a revision guide and it just talks about the background of the writer's which doesn't fit in any points you make in the essay. Can you please help Mr Bruff?

[@sergeantweasel]

Could the "acres" and "prairies" also represent aspiration to travel greater distances away from his mother/show that his decisions are now more impactful and matter on scales more significant than just a "single span"? Very helpful video, got my mock tomorrow

[@mrbruff]

Yes that's a good idea.

[@afelbino5929]

how is the 2nd stanza (which includes anchor) an ejambment. Isn't enjambent when a sentence flows from one stanza to another

[@maddieh1878]

Naod Sahle it can be from one sentence to another as well. In fact this is the more common use

[@temimahrees4248]

Splace? What is splace? 17:26

[@deoxysgeneration2126]

Is it good to refer to similar texts from Simon Armitage to compare and contrast in the exam?

[@Akhan._.1512]

Yes ones I can recommend are before you were mine by carol Anne Duffy and walking away.

[@BreadButter00]

Can't believe this is my HOMEWORK

[@elliotchilton3431]

thank you so much your videos are so helpful! have you got any tips on how best to remember quotes? i am studying Merchant of Venice, LOTF and Jekyll and Hyde for aqa. Thanks!

[@maisiedavis3750]

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@VJ-fr2zd]

I appreciate these poems more now that I’m not in school

[@jessica_little_star757]

this helped me so much with my GCSES! thank you

[@mrbruff]

+jessica_little_star good

[@tyrellwellick5968]

Plz can you do tissue by imtiaz dharker

[@rosey2743]

gg dd yesssss

[@kieragibson8999]

so helpful!

[@parneets5207]

such a good video!!

[@lukef1131]

Do you have anything on the context of the poem? Or is it not really as relevant to this poem as say follower?

[@leec4185]

Excellent.

[@alexyankson4759]

can this poem also be compared to Walking away

[@hasanal-ansari7118]

Both show the changing relationship between parents-children so as the themes are similar the answer would be yes

[@Akhan._.1512]

Yes , they both use the imagery of space and changing relationships between parent and child

[@nads5267]

thank you oh my

[@mariaosu]

Mr Bruff, I have subscribed - what does this give me? Not that I'm expecting anything, just curious. Your explanations are great, very helpful. Thanks!

[@joycelynallotey4170]

A-MAZING!

[@hillarytrimarchi4944]

What is splace. Splace? What IS splace? ahaha that made my day

[@kittyjohnson2875]

helpful

[@morganrhea9412]

Can some1 pls make a summary of this pls 🥺🥺

[@zainabmussa4515]

youre the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@eleanor6271]

Is this written from the perspective of Simon Armitage do you think?

[@mrbruff]

Not that I know of.

[@ruxi5503]

exam today :(

[@anisafarah78]

Where is the context for this poem?

[@mrbruff]

the book it comes from is context

[@anisafarah78]

mrbruff I wrote that in my essay and my teacher commented that it's not relevant context

[@mrbruff]

It depends on the question.

[@samuelthomas4175]

Could you say that as you can't have a single-word sentence that is grammatically correct (you need a verb). It reflects how there are no bounds to the mother and speakers relationship.

[@rosey2743]

Hi please can you finish the power and conflict cluster In the time space of 6 weeks please thank you so much

[@mrbruff]

new poem every Saturday

[@ea1766]

7:31

[@joebastianich3410]

simone artwedge looks clapped

[@Ry_ry-mc6qd]

Lol

[@yoosufnasleem8810]

his voice makes me go to sleep...

[@ninomiletic7860]

you legend

[@claudiamoreno7382]

can you do Eden Rock?

[@mrbruff]

+Claudia Moreno this week

[@lvrnknnlvr]

Ah

[@lvrnknnlvr]

Ah

[@lvrnknnlvr]

Ah

[@lvrnknnlvr]

Ah

[@lvrnknnlvr]

Ah

[@lvrnknnlvr]

Ah

[@leochampion6491]

Mr Kelly is the true boomer

[@xxcrazygamerxx4315]

south africa

[@theanti-christ2842]

If this gets pinned I'll pass my GCSE's

[@VortexWarp]

kashem ali bad luck :(

[@lookwhaticandofifagtavandm2337]

did u pass?

[@johnholme138]

Splace

[@SunshineSML]

sup 11X

[@NomanKhan-bd4st]

11Y

[@shaznaks7568]

woo

[@fredcalledbygod]

This is the most boring poem in the anthology

[@fredcalledbygod]

Krrish Mehrotra It’s my opinion though? It’s not even a negative comment and yes I do understand the poem but I PERSONALLY find it boring.

[@Sarong86]

5:39