Jackie Kay Revision Lucozade Divorce Bed Gap Year

Jackie Kay Revision

• • • Lucozade Divorce Bed Gap Year My Grandmother’s Houses Keeping Orchids

‘Lucozade’ 1. Explain how the speaker’s sense of fear is conveyed in lines 1 -4. (4 MARKS) 2. What is the mother’s attitude towards being in hospital in lines 9 -12? (4 MARKS) 3. What does the mother want to change about being in hospital in lines 13 -20? (2 MARKS) 4. Show the mother is made to seem liberated in the final stanza. (2 MARKS) 5. In this poem, Kay takes an everyday, ordinary situation and transforms it into something special and thoughtprovoking. Choose at least one other poem by her in which she does the same thing and explain how she adds significance to an ordinary event. (8 MARKS)

‘Lucozade’

My mum is on a high bed next to sad chrysanthemums. ‘Don’t bring flowers, they only wilt and die. ’ I am scared my mum is going to die on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums. Explain how the speaker’s sense of fear is conveyed in lines 1 -4. (4) ‘My mum is on a high bed next to sad chrysanthemums. ’ (1) This transferred epithet tells us the speaker is sad, not the flowers, because of her fears for her mother’s health. (1) ‘I am scared my mum is going to die’ (1) This simple confessional statement connects the mother to the flowers and reflects the speaker’s age / fear. (1) ‘they only wilt and die’ (1) This suggests a sense of inevitability about her fears. The flowers have become the image of death / fading / loss of vitality – she is scared that, just as cut flowers inevitably die, so will her mother. (1)

‘The whole day was a blur, a swarm of eyes. Those doctors with their white lies. Did you think you could cheer me up with a Woman’s Own? Don’t bring magazines, too much about size. ’ ‘The whole day was a blur, a swarm of eyes. ’ (1) She is feeling objectified, gawped at, irritated by all the attention (1) What is the mother’s attitude towards being in hospital in lines 9 -12? (4) ‘white lies’ (1) This recalls the doctors’ white coats and reflects that the mother is frustrated and feels her doctors are dealing in half truths / medical euphemism and not being honest with her. (1) Again reflects the mother’s rejection of the traditional approach to illness / death. (1) ‘Did you think you could cheer me up with a Woman’s Own? Don’t bring magazines, too much about size. ’ (1) ‘cheer me up’ suggests that she is feeling down about being in the hospital. Magazines, traditionally brought by hospital visitors, cannot bring her happiness and shift her low mood. (1)

My mum wakes up, groggy and low. ‘What I want to know, ’ she says, ’ is this: where’s the big brandy, the generous gin, the Bloody Mary, the biscuit tin, the chocolate gingers, the dirty big meringue? ’ I am sixteen; I’ve never tasted a Bloody Mary. ‘Tell your father to bring a luxury, ’ says she. ‘Grapes have no imagination, they’re just green. Tell him: stop the neighbours coming. ’ What does the mother want to change about being in hospital in lines 13 -20? (2) ‘where’s the big brandy, the generous gin, the Bloody Mary, the biscuit tin, the chocolate gingers, the dirty big meringue? ’’ (1) The mother rejects the traditional symbols of illness (grapes, flowers, magazines, lucozade) and instead lists the several luxuries which she would rather have, showing the grandiose indulgence, recklessness, extravagance and naughtiness which she would rather indulge in and the life-affirming nature of her request. (1)

My mum wakes up, groggy and low. ‘What I want to know, ’ she says, ’ is this: where’s the big brandy, the generous gin, the Bloody Mary, the biscuit tin, the chocolate gingers, the dirty big meringue? ’ I am sixteen; I’ve never tasted a Bloody Mary. ‘Tell your father to bring a luxury, ’ says she. ‘Grapes have no imagination, they’re just green. Tell him: stop the neighbours coming. ’ What does the mother want to change about being in hospital in lines 13 -20? (2) ‘Tell him: stop the neighbours coming. ’’ (1) She is either too ill / close to death to receive visitors or simply sick of the ‘swarm of eyes’ and wants to spend her final days on her own terms with only those close to her. (1)

My mother, on her high hospital bed, waves back. Show the mother is made to seem liberated Her face is light and radiant, dandelion hours. in the final stanza. (2) Her sheets billow and whirl. She is beautiful. Next to her the empty table is divine. ‘My mother, on her high hospital bed, waves back. ’ (1) Mother waving back suggests that her energy has returned. She has been revived, not by Lucozade, but by its removal and through her rejection of the expected role of victim / invalid. (1) ‘Her face is light and radiant’ (1) This is optimistic and there is a sense of her being unburdened (compared to the daughter’s burden as she carries away the trappings of illness). Both words suggest she is feeling positive and uplifted. (1) ‘Her sheets billow and whirl. She is beautiful. ’ (1) This has angelic connotations, emphasised by the soft consonants and vowels. This simple statement of beauty suggests a revelation for the speaker – her mother is free from her previous low mood. (1)

My mother, on her high hospital bed, waves back. Show the mother is made to seem liberated Her face is light and radiant, dandelion hours. in the final stanza. (2) Her sheets billow and whirl. She is beautiful. Next to her the empty table is divine. ‘Next to her the empty table is divine’ (1) This continues the image of heaven /angelic transcendence (compared with the negative tone of death in the first stanza). This is a transferred epithet – the mother is divine, not the table. (1)

In this poem, Kay takes an everyday, ordinary situation and transforms it into something special and thought-provoking. Choose at least one other poem by her in which she does the same thing and explain how she adds significance to an ordinary event. (8) Answering The Final Question – Summary 1. Commonality: refer to another poem or poems and say what it has / they have in common / in contrast with the given poem. (2) 2. Extract: refer to the extract / poem you have been given in relation to the question. (2) 3. Other 1: refer to a second poem / extract in relation to the question. (2) 4. Other 2: repeat stage 3 for the second or a third poem. (2)

Possible points of comparison? Other poems which have ‘everyday, ordinary situations’ which are transformed ‘into something special and thought-provoking’?

Gap Year - portrays the close bond of a mother and son. Kay is waiting for her son to return from his gap year travels. It leads to reflections on her feelings about his childhood and newfound independence. The poem explores themes of motherhood, closeness and distance, and the passage of time. Possible Quotes: • “I have a son out in the big, wide world. ” theme – pride in her son, close relationship. Sentence Structure: proud declarative sentence. • “I remember your Moses basket before you were born. ” theme – closeness, longed for baby, contrast to staring at empty bed now. • “I am wearing your large black slippers, flip-flopping into your bedroom. ”- theme: missing her son, word choice: onomatopoeia emphasising her sadness. • “I feel like a home-alone mother. ”- word choice: pun on home-alone, role reversal, usually a child. • “My heart soars like the birds in your bright blue skies. ” imagery – simile: image of pride and joy. • “Seeing you, shy, smiling, on the webcam reminds me / Of the second scan at twenty weeks. ” theme: comparison between past and present. • “All the lights have gone out in the hall. ” imagery: symbol of her life being empty without him. • “Now you are eighteen, / Six foot two, away in Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia. ” sentence structure: repetition, emphasises distance, list of countries empahsises how far he has travelled away from his mother.

Keeping Orchids – meeting your mother for a coffee is an everyday activity, but this is her first meeting with her birth mother. The meeting is emotionally complicated. The mother is very reticent and Kay finds it hard to understand her and to process her own feelings and responses to the situation. She uses the orchid to explore emotion stirred up by her past and this woman. Possible Quotes: • “The orchids my mother gave me when we first met” – theme: shock as we realise it is first time speaker has met natural mother. • “Even her voice rushes / through a tunnel the other way from home. ” – theme: distance between them is not just physical but emotional. • ”I have rearranged the upset orchids with troubled hands. ” – imagery, transferred epithet, word choice: it is the speaker who feels this way. • “Boiling water makes flowers live longer. So does / Cutting the stems with a sharp knife. ” – imagery (a symbol for the process of adoption: painful but for the greater good) sentence structure (enjambment, time passing quickly) • “A bag of tricks. ” – imagery (metaphor suggesting mother’s secrecy) sentence structure (short and blunt suggesting anger towards mother).

‘Divorce’

‘Divorce’ 1. Summarise the ways in which the speaker’s parents are an irritation to her. (4 MARKS) 2. How is imagery used to create an idea of the perfect parents in lines 16 -24? (4 MARKS) 3. How does the language in lines 24 -28 show the speaker’s anger? (4 MARKS) 4. Choose at least one other poem by Kay that explores theme of family relationships. Show the poet explores theme in Divorce and your chosen poem. (8 MARKS)

I did not promise to stay with you till death do us part, or anything like that, so part I must, and quickly. There are things I cannot suffer any longer: Mother, you never, ever said a kind word or a thank-you for all the tedious chores I have done; Father, your breath smells like a camel’s and gives me the hump; all you ever say is: ‘Are you off in the cream puff, Lady Muck? ’ In this day and age? I would be better off in an orphanage. Summarise the ways in which the speaker’s parents are an irritation to her. (4) Quote (1) She feels her mother is ungrateful and indifferent towards her or does not love her properly. The build up here of ‘never, ever’ suggests that she can’t remember it ever happening. (1) Quote (1) She mocks her father’s bad breath and his mocking of her. It is clear that she thinks her father’s nickname for her is derogatory and it upsets her. (1)

There are parents in the world whose faces turn up to the light who speak in the soft murmur of rivers and never shout. There are parents who stroke their children’s cheeks in the dead of night and sing in the colourful voices of rainbows, red to blue. These parents are not you. I never chose you. How is imagery used to create an idea of the perfect parents in lines 16 -24? (4) Quote (1) The use of ‘light’ makes us think about goodness and sunshine and makes these parents sound happy. (1) Quote (1) This compares the way these parents speak to the sound of rivers. These rivers are soft and calm and soothing. The speaker clearly thinks these parents are lovely as they never raise their voices and are calm all the time. (1) Quote (1) This sounds like when they are singing happy colours come out of their mouths, making them seem joyous and magical. You could imagine having a wonderful time with these parents.

These parents are not you. I never chose you. You are rough and wild, I don’t want to be your child. All you do is shout and that’s not right. I will file for divorce in the morning at first light. Quote (1) She describes her parents as being like uncivilised animals and always shouting, showing her anger towards them. This is ironic as the speaker is the one coming across as rough and wild. (1) How does the language in lines 2428 show the speaker’s anger? (4) Quote (1) The short, declarative statements convey childishness and slight petulance / stroppiness. (1) Quote (1) The accusative tone suggests it might be being shouted at the parents. (1) Quote (1) This suggests an unshakeable certainty about right and wrong; she sees her parents behaviour as wrong but, ironically, we can imagine her shouting this at her parents. (1)

Choose at least one other poem by Kay that explores theme of family relationships. Show the poet explores theme in Divorce and your chosen poem. 8 Summary – how to answer the 8 mark question 1. Commonality: refer to another poem or poems and say what it has / they have in common / in contrast with the given poem. (2) 2. Extract: refer to the extract / poem you have been given in relation to the question. (2) 3. Other 1: refer to a second poem / extract in relation to the question. (2) 4. Other 2: repeat stage 3 for the second or a third poem. (2)

5. With close textual reference, show the theme of family relationships is explored in this poem, and in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 Commonality - Family Relationships: ‘Divorce’ Parent / child relationship ‘Divorce’ is written from the point of view of a teenage girl who feels that her parents are cruel to her and don’t appreciate her and so she wishes to ‘divorce’ them. ‘Lucozade’ Mother / daughter relationship ‘Lucozade’ is written from the point of view of a teenager, probably a girl, who is visiting her sick mother in hospital and is worried about what is going to happen to her.

Quotes related to Family Relationships: ‘Divorce’ ‘Lucozade’ “Mother, you never, ever said / a kind word / or a thank-you for all the tedious chores I have done; ” “Father, your breath / smells like a camel’s and gives me the hump; ” “I would be better off in an orphanage. ” “I want a divorce. ” “I don’t want to be your child. ” “All you do is shout / and that’s not right. ” “I am scared my mum is going to die / on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums. ” “I turn round, wave with her flowers. /My mother, on her high hospital bed, waves back. / Her face is light and radiant, dandelion hours. / Her sheets billow and whirl. She is beautiful. ” “I carry the orange nostalgia home singing an old song. ” 1 Quote needed 2 Quotes needed

Extract - In ‘Divorce’, the melodramatic statement “I would be better off in an orphanage” shows that the girl wants to completely reject her parents, the ‘divorce’ of the title. This reminds us of the kind of thing teenagers say when fighting with their parents and the reader can imagine her stomping off, slamming the door after her. Other 1 - In contrast, the speaker in ‘Lucozade’ seems to be close to her mother and is worried that she is going to lose her: “I am scared my mum is going to die / on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums. ” This transferred epithet shows us the speaker’s sadness about her mother’s illness and links the mother to the flowers: she is scared that her mother will “wilt and die”, just like the flowers. Other 2 - Towards the end of the poem, the daughter removes, at her mother’s request, the stereotypical objects associated with illness, like the lucozade of the title, and when her mother waves her goodbye “Her face is light and radiant, dandelion hours. ” The end of the poem is far more optimistic than the start and we get a sense of the mother being unburdened by the daughter taking away the objects. The metaphor “dandelion hours” continues this sense of lightness and beauty, but it also suggests delicate fragility. The mother may have little time remaining, but is facing death on her own terms, with her daughter’s help, showing the close bond between them.

• Commonality - ‘Divorce’ is written from the point of view of a teenage girl who feels that her parents are cruel to her and don’t appreciate her and so she wishes to ‘divorce’ them. ‘Lucozade’ is written from the point of view of a teenager, probably a girl, who is visiting her sick mother in hospital and is worried about what is going to happen to her. ✔ ✔ • Extract - In ‘Divorce’, the melodramatic statement “I would be better off in an orphanage”✔ shows that the girl wants to completely reject her parents, the ‘divorce’ of the title. This reminds us of the kind of thing teenagers say when fighting with their parents and the reader can imagine her stomping off, slamming the door after her. ✔ • Other 1 - In contrast, the speaker in ‘Lucozade’ seems to be close to her mother and is worried that she is going to lose her: “I am scared my mum is going to die / on the bed next to the sad chrysanthemums. ” This transferred epithet shows us the speaker’s sadness about her mother’s illness and links the mother to the flowers: she is scared that her mother will “wilt and die”, just like the flowers. ✔ ✔ • Other 2 - Towards the end of the poem, the daughter removes, at her mother’s request, the stereotypical objects associated with illness, like the lucozade of the title, and when her mother waves her goodbye “Her face is light and radiant, dandelion hours. ” The end of the poem is far more optimistic than the start and we get a sense of the mother being unburdened by the daughter taking away the objects. The metaphor “dandelion hours” continues this sense of lightness and beauty, but it also suggests delicate fragility. The mother may have little time remaining, but is facing death on her own terms, with her daughter’s help, showing the close bond between them. ✔ ✔

You could also discuss family relationships in: • ‘Gap Year’ (close relationship between mother and son); • ‘Bed’ (strained relationship between mother and daughter); • ‘My Grandmother’s Houses’ (close relationship between Kay and her grandmother); • ‘Keeping Orchids’ (similar tension and lack of communication between parent and child).

‘Bed’ 1. Explain how the speaker’s sense of irritation is conveyed in lines 1 -6. (4 MARKS) 2. What is the speaker’s attitude towards being old in lines 7 -16. (4 MARKS) 3. How does the tone change at stanza 9? (2 MARKS) 4. Choose an image from lines 33 -40 and explain how it effective. (2 MARKS) 5. Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. (8 MARKS)

Explain how the speaker’s sense She is that guid tae me so she is of irritation is conveyed in lines 1 an Am a burden tae} her, I know Am ur. -6. (4) Stuck here in this big blastit bed year in, year oot, ony saint wuid complain. ‘Am a burden tae her, I know Am ur. ’ (1) There’s things she has tae dae fir me She feels frustrated by everything her daughter has A’ wish she didnae huv tae dae. to do for her. (1) ‘big blastit bed’(1) Alliteration of the plosive ‘b’, combined with the expletive ‘blastit’, suggests her frustration at being trapped by her circumstances and bedridden. (1) ‘year in, year oot’ (1) Repetition also confirms the similarity in her routine that is ultimately wearing for her and her daughter. (1) ‘ony saint wuid complain’ (1) Word choice suggests a sense of her martyrdom – anyone would feel frustrated in her position (1)

Explain how the speaker’s sense She is that guid tae me so she is of irritation is conveyed in lines 1 an Am a burden tae her, I know Am ur. -6. (4) Stuck here in this big blastit bed year in, year oot, ony saint wuid complain. There’s things she has tae dae fir me } A’ wish she didnae } huv tae dae. ‘There’s things she has tae dae fir me A’ wish she didnae huv tae dae. ’ (1) She is irritated and humiliated by the indignities of being cared for i. e. her daughter having to change her ‘nappy’. (1)

Am her wean noo, wey }ma great tent o’ nappy, What is the speaker’s an champed egg in a cup, an mashed tattie. attitude towards being old in lines 7 -16? (4) Aw the treats A’ used tae gie her, ‘Am her wean noo, wey ma she’s gieing me. A’ dinny ken whit happened. great tent o’ nappy’ (1) We dinny talk any mair. Whether it’s jist She is embarrassed by the blethers ha been plucked oot o’ us role reversal caused by old age - her daughter is having an Am here like some skinny chicken, to do things for her that she ma skin aw bubbles and dots and spots, did for her daughter as a loose flap noo (an yet as a young wuman baby. (1) The metaphor A’ took pride in ma guid smooth skin. ) exaggerates the size of the nappy, suggesting the ‘an champed egg in a cup, an mashed tattie. ’ (1) ridiculousness of the Her food is bland, unexciting and mundane, like woman’s situation. (1) easy to chew baby food. It is uninspiring and lacking in enjoyment. like the woman’s life in her old age. (1)

Am her wean noo, wey ma great tent o’ nappy, What is the speaker’s attitude towards being old in an champed egg in a cup, an mashed tattie. lines 7 -16? (4) } Aw the treats A’ used tae gie her, she’s gieing me. A’ dinny } ken whit happened. Quote (1) We dinny talk any mair. Whether it’s jist She is bewildered by the blethers ha been plucked oot o’ us role reversal between her and her daughter. (1) an Am here like some skinny chicken, ma skin aw bubbles and dots and spots, Quote (1) loose flap noo (an yet as a young wuman She has very negative A’ took pride in ma guid smooth skin. ) feelings about how she has aged and how this is Quote (1) reflected physically. This The implication here is that old age brings shows her vulnerability – ugliness and disrepair, whereas youth is ‘guid’ she feels ugly, unnatural, and something to be proud of, in contrast with as if she is being the indignity she is now experiencing. prepared for the end. (1)

Time is whit A’ hauld between the soft bits o’ ma thumbs, the skeleton underneath ma night goon; aw the while the glaring selfish moon How does the tone change at stanza 9? (2) The speaker moves from observations on her life (and its frustrations and humiliations) (1) and becomes more reflective and philosopical (about the passing of time and her imminent death). (1)

Time is whit A’ hauld between the soft bits o’ ma thumbs, the skeleton underneath ma night goon; aw the while the glaring selfish moon lights up this drab wee prison. A’ll be gone and how wull she feel? No that Am saying A’ want her guilty. No that Am saying Am no grateful. ‘the skeleton underneath ma night goon’ (1) This highlights her weak state and the effect the ravages of time have had on her. Her flesh has gone; what’s left is simply bones; death is waiting for her. (1) Choose an image from lines 3340 and explain how it effective. (2 MARKS) ‘Time is whit A’ hauld between / the soft bits o’ ma thumbs’ (1) The metaphor shows that the woman imagines time to be tangible, something she can hold between her thumbs. She has a tenuous grip on it, there is not much left, it is gossamer thin and will soon wear away. (1)

Time is whit A’ hauld between the soft bits o’ ma thumbs, the skeleton underneath ma night goon; aw the while the glaring selfish moon } } lights up this drab wee prison. A’ll be gone and how wull she feel? No that Am saying A’ want her guilty. No that Am saying Am no grateful. ‘lights up this drab wee prison. ’ (1) This metaphor likens the room to a prison, reminding us of the speaker’s confinement and the inevitability of her fate. (1) Her bed and her body are like a prison, though her mind is still obviously active. (1) ‘lights up’ – suggests it brings a small amount of cheer / joy / relief. (1) Choose an image from lines 3340 and explain how it effective. (2 MARKS) ‘the glaring selfish moon’ (1) The moon is the opposite of giving. The personification makes us think of her daughter and those around her. (1) It suggests the passing of time literally – she has been there all day – and has connotations of death. (1)

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 Candidates should show understanding of the central relationship in this poem and at least one other by Jackie Kay. They should provide quotations and/or close references to the text in support of their answer. They should refer specifically to poetic devices used in the texts and the impact of these devices (in helping the reader to understand the nature of the central relationship) should be evaluated.

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 • Candidates may choose to answer in bullet points in this final question, or write a number of linked statements. There is no requirement to write a “mini essay”. • Up to 2 marks can be achieved for identifying elements of commonality as identified in the question. • A further 2 marks can be achieved for reference to the extract given. • 4 additional marks can be awarded for similar references to at least one other text/part of the text by the writer.

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 In practice this means: 1) Identification of COMMONALITY (2) (eg: theme, central relationship, importance of setting, use of imagery, development in characterisation, use of personal experience, use of narrative style, or any other key element…) 2) from the EXTRACT: 1 x relevant reference to technique / idea / feature / text (1) + 1 x appropriate comment (1) 3) from at least one OTHER text/part of the text: as above (x 2) for up to 4 marks

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 ‘Divorce’ ‘Bed’ COMMONALITY (2): • Bed is about the relationship between a bedridden old woman and the daughter who cares for her. It describes the embarrassing role reversal between them, their struggle to communicate and the destruction of their relationship. • Divorce is about a teenage girl who has an unhappy relationship with her parents with whom she also seems to struggle to communicate. She is so fed up with the way that she feels they treat her that she is demanding a divorce from them.

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 Extract (2) – Bed: The mother has become reliant on her daughter. There has been some role reversal. ‘There’s things she has tae dae fir me A’ wish she didnae huv tae dae. ’ ‘Am her wean noo… …Aw the treats A’ used tae gie her, / she’s gieing me. ’ The mother feels guilty at having to rely on her daughter. ‘She is that guid tae me so she is an Am a burden tae her, I know Am ur. ’ The daughter may resent the monotony of caring for her mother but does it out of loyalty. ‘She is that guid tae me so she is an Am a burden tae her, I know Am ur. ’ x 1

Jackie Kay often explores relationships in her poems. Refer briefly to the central relationship in this poem and go on to discuss a central relationship in at least one other poem by Jackie Kay. 8 Other (4) – Divorce: x 2 The persona in Divorce is clearly having serious problems in her relationship with her family, so much so that she wishes to permanently end their relationship. ‘I don’t want to be your child…I want a divorce’ She feels that her mother is unappreciative of her and not affectionate towards her or supportive of her. ‘Mother, you never, ever said / a kind word / or a thank-you for all the tedious chores I have done; ’ She finds her father physically repellent and is not afraid of hurting his feelings by telling him so. ‘Father, your breath smells like a camel’s and gives me the hump’ She would rather have no parents than the ones she has, showing how much their relationship has broken down. ‘I would be better off in an orphanage. ’

Here are some examples of complete answers which would earn 8 marks:

• Bed is about the relationship between a bedridden old woman and the daughter who cares for her. It describes the embarrassing role reversal between them, their struggle to communicate and the destruction of their relationship. C 1 • Divorce is about a teenage girl who has an unhappy relationship with her parents with whom she also seems to struggle to communicate. She is so fed up with the way that she feels they treat her that she is demanding a divorce from them. C 2 • The mother has become reliant on her daughter: E 1 ‘There’s things she has tae dae fir me / A’ wish she didnae huv tae dae. ’ E 2 • The teenage girl in Divorce is clearly having serious problems in her relationship with her family, so much so that she wishes to permanently end their relationship: O 1 ‘I don’t want to be your child…I want a divorce’ O 2 • She would rather have no parents than the ones she has, showing how much their relationship has broken down: O 3 ‘I would be better off in an orphanage. ’ O 4

• Bed is about the relationship between a bedridden old woman and the daughter who cares for her. It describes the embarrassing role reversal between them, their struggle to communicate and the destruction of their relationship. C 1 • Divorce is about a teenage girl who has an unhappy relationship with her parents with whom she also seems to struggle to communicate. She is so fed up with the way that she feels they treat her that she is demanding a divorce from them. C 2 • The mother feels guilty at having to rely on her daughter: E 1 ‘She is that guid tae me so she is / an Am a burden tae her, I know Am ur. ’ E 2 • The teenage girl in Divorce feels that her mother is unappreciative of her and not affectionate towards her or supportive of her: O 1 ‘Mother, you never, ever said / a kind word / or a thank-you for all the tedious chores I have done; ’ O 2 • She finds her father physically repellent and is not afraid of hurting his feelings by telling him so: O 3 ‘Father, your breath / smells like a camel’s and gives me the hump’ O 4

‘Gap Year’

‘Gap Year’ 1. Summarise the main points in lines 1 -16. (4 MARKS) 2. How is a sense of longing established in lines 17 -20? (4 MARKS) 3. By referring to two examples, show the writer uses language to emphasise her feelings of loss during her son’s gap year. (4 MARKS) 4. Kay often uses first person narratives in her poem to recreate events. Using one other poem show she manages to do this effectively in her poems. (8 MARKS)

I remember your Moses basket before you were born. I’d stare at the fleecy white sheet for days, weeks, willing you to arrive, hardly able to believe I would ever have a real baby to put in the basket. I’d feel the mound of my tight tub of a stomach, and you moving there, foot against my heart, elbow in my ribcage, turning, burping, awake, asleep. One time I imagined I felt you laugh. I’d play you Handel’s Water Music or Emma Kirkby singing Pergolesi. I’d talk to you, my close stranger, call you Tumshie, ask when you were coming to meet me. You arrived late, the very hot summer of eighty-eight. You had passed the due date string of eights, and were pulled out with forceps, blue, floury, on the fourteenth of August on Sunday afternoon. I took you home on Monday and lay you in your basket. Summarise the main points in lines 1 -16. (4) Kay is staring at the Moses basket, waiting, impatiently, for her son to be born. (1) She cannot imagine that she will actually have a baby soon. (1) She can feel the baby moving continuously, showing the closeness of their bond. He is a source of joy and pain. (1)

I remember your Moses basket before you were born. I’d stare at the fleecy white sheet for days, weeks, willing you to arrive, hardly able to believe I would ever have a real baby to put in the basket. I’d feel the mound of my tight tub of a stomach, and you moving there, foot against my heart, elbow in my ribcage, turning, burping, awake, asleep. One time I imagined I felt you laugh. Summarise the main points in lines 1 -16. (4) She plays music to him in the womb and talks to him affectionately. (1) Although the baby is physically close, he is still unfamiliar. She I’d play you Handel’s Water Music or Emma Kirkby loves her unborn child singing Pergolesi. I’d talk to you, my close stranger, but recognises that he call you Tumshie, ask when you were coming to meet me. is separate from her You arrived late, the very hot summer of eighty-eight. with different experiences. (1) You had passed the due date string of eights, and were pulled out with forceps, blue, floury, on the fourteenth of August on Sunday afternoon. I took you home on Monday and lay you in your basket. The baby is born late, during a very hot summer. He is delivered by forceps, suggesting his reluctance. (1)

How is a sense of Now, I peek in your room and stare at your bed longing established hardly able to imagine you back in there sleeping, Your handsome face – soft, open. Now you are eighteen, in lines 17 -20? (4) six foot two, away in Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia. ‘peek’ (1) Suggests the actions of an anxious parent checking on a sleeping child, showing that she is anxious to have her son home. (1) ‘stare’ (1) echoes the earlier reference to looking at the empty baby basket and shows the intensity of her longing. (1) ‘hardly able to imagine you back in there sleeping, ’ (1) he has been away so long that it is hard for her to imagine his presence there again, showing how much she is longing for him. (1)

How is a sense of Now, I peek in your room and stare at your bed longing established hardly able to imagine you back in there sleeping, Your handsome face – soft, open. Now you are eighteen, in lines 17 -20? (4) six foot two, away in Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia. ‘Your handsome face – soft, open’ (1) She is picturing his face, showing her longing to see him for real. (1) ‘away, away’ (1) The repetition emphasises the distance between them and how strongly she feels the separation. (1)

By referring to two examples, show the writer uses language to emphasise her feelings of loss into your empty bedroom, trying to imagine you in your bed. I stare at the photos you send by messenger: during her son’s gap year. (4) you on the top of the world, arms outstretched, eager. Blue sky, white snow; you by Lake Tararhua, beaming. And maybe work for the Victor Jara Foundation. I feel like a home-alone mother; all the lights have gone out in the hall, and now I am wearing your large black slippers, flip-flopping ‘I feel like a home-alone mother’ (1) This is usually applied to a child, but here we see a role reversal - she has switched places with her son and has become like a child. (1) ‘all the lights / have gone out in the hall’ (1) The darkness is symbolic of Matthew’s absence, showing Kay’s sense of loss (1). ‘now I am / wearing your large black slippers’ (1) She is wearing his large black slippers, just like children play grown ups by trying on their parents’ shoes and clothes. (1)

By referring to two examples, show the writer uses language to emphasise her feelings of loss into your empty bedroom, trying to imagine you in your bed. I stare at the photos you send by messenger: during her son’s gap year. (4) you on the top of the world, arms outstretched, eager. Blue sky, white snow; you by Lake Tararhua, beaming. And maybe work for the Victor Jara Foundation. I feel like a home-alone mother; all the lights have gone out in the hall, and now I am wearing your large black slippers, flip-flopping ‘flip-flopping’ (1) Onomatopoeia is used to describe a pathetic, sad sound, lacking energy. Suggests the idea of her going back and forth to her son’s room. (1) ‘into your empty bedroom, trying to imagine you / in your bed’ (1) She returns to his bedroom and contemplates its emptiness, symbolising her disappointment that her son is coming home later than planned. (1) ‘empty bedroom’ (1) recalls the empty cot at the start and we get a sense of empty nest syndrome (1)

By referring to two examples, show the writer uses language to emphasise her feelings of loss into your empty bedroom, trying to imagine you in your bed. I stare at the photos you send by messenger: during her son’s gap year. (4) you on the top of the world, arms outstretched, eager. Blue sky, white snow; you by Lake Tararhua, beaming. And maybe work for the Victor Jara Foundation. I feel like a home-alone mother; all the lights have gone out in the hall, and now I am wearing your large black slippers, flip-flopping ‘trying to imagine you / in your bed’ (1) Shows her sense of loss that he is not there (1) ‘I stare at the photos you send by messenger’ (1) The word choice of ‘stare’ suggests her longing for him and feelings of loss in his absence. (1) The photo of him ‘by Lake Tararhua, beaming’ (1) suggests Matthew is the light of her life. His absence brings darkness to the house and his happiness brings light to his face. (1)

Kay often uses first person narratives in her poems to recreate events. Using one other poem show she manages to do this effectively in her poems. (8) All of the poems which you have studied are first person monologues (i. e. ‘spoken’ by one persona). But which of the poems are autobiographical i. e. recreate real life events which Kay has personally experienced? Lucozade Divorce Bed My Grandmother’s Houses Keeping Orchids about meeting her birth mother for the first time about her grandmother and her relationship with her as a child

‘My Grandmother’s Houses’

‘My Grandmother’s Houses’ 1. Summarise things that make the speaker’s grandmother’s house seem like a home from lines 1 -14. (4 MARKS) 2. Show one way in which the writer makes the church experience stand out (lines 37 -44). (2 MARKS) 3. How do we get a sense that there is a class divide between the speaker and the owner of the house in lines 45 -60? (4 MARKS) 4. Choose one technique Kay uses to make the last lines effective (63 -65)? (2 MARKS) 5. This poem deals with a series of significant moments and memories. Choose at least one other poem that does this and show Kay makes her poems seem poignant to the reader. (8 MARKS)

She is on the second floor of a tenement. From her front room window you see the cemetery. Her bedroom is my favourite: newspapers dating back to the War covering every present she’s ever got since the War. What’s the point in buying her anything my mother moans. Does she use it. Does she even look at it. I spend hours unwrapping and wrapping endless tablecloths, napkins, perfume, bath salts, stories of things I can’t understand, words like conscientious objector. At night I climb over all the newspaper parcels to get to bed, harder than the school’s obstacle course. High up in her bed all the print merges together. Summarise things that make the speaker’s grandmother’s house seem like a home from lines 1 -14. (4) The reference to ‘tenement’ and ‘cemetery’ suggests that these are the two destinations in life – the grandmother has no intention of leaving her home before she dies. (1) By addressing the reader directly it is as if she is opening the door of her grandmother’s house and showing us her home and her world. (1)

She is on the second floor of a tenement. From her front room window you see the cemetery. Her bedroom is my favourite: newspapers dating back to the War covering every present she’s ever got since the War. What’s the point in buying her anything my mother moans. Does she use it. Does she even look at it. I spend hours unwrapping and wrapping endless tablecloths, napkins, perfume, bath salts, stories of things I can’t understand, words like conscientious objector. At night I climb over all the newspaper parcels to get to bed, harder than the school’s obstacle course. High up in her bed all the print merges together. Summarise things that make the speaker’s grandmother’s house seem like a home from lines 1 -14. (4) The bedroom is laden with clutter. There are lots of presents wrapped in newspapers which the grandmother appears to have hoarded and not used. (1) The newspapers are really interesting to the girl (1)

dragging me along to the strange place where the air is trapped and ghosts sit at the altar. My parents do not believe. It is down to her. A couple of prayers. A hymn or two. Threepenny bit in the collection hat. A flock of women in coats and fussy hats flapping over me like missionaires, and that is that, until the next time God grabs me in Glasgow with Gran. Show one way in which the writer makes the church experience stand out (lines 37 -44). (2) ‘strange place’ (1) The girl does not feel at ease in the church. (1) ‘trapped’ (1) Suggests staleness/age (1) ‘ghosts’ (1) Suggests things past and lost but somehow still in the air (possible link to the grandmother’s old way of life? Her husband? ). (1)

dragging me along to the strange place where the air is trapped and ghosts sit at the altar. My parents do not believe. It is down to her. A couple of prayers. A hymn or two. Threepenny bit in the collection hat. A flock of women in coats and fussy hats flapping over me like missionaires, and that is that, until the next time God grabs me in Glasgow with Gran. Show one way in which the writer makes the church experience stand out (lines 37 -44). (2) ‘A couple of prayers. A hymn or two. / Threepenny bit in the collection hat. ’ (1) Despite the insistence of the ritual, it seems almost tokenistic; the minor sentences suggest there is no real religious commitment. It seems the child is going through the motions – acting out a routine. (1) ‘A flock of women’ (1) The description of the women in the church shows their sense of community but is also a link to the good shepherd. (1)

dragging me along to the strange place where the air is trapped and ghosts sit at the altar. My parents do not believe. It is down to her. A couple of prayers. A hymn or two. Threepenny bit in the collection hat. A flock of women in coats and fussy hats flapping over me like missionaires, and that is that, until the next time God grabs me in Glasgow with Gran. Show one way in which the writer makes the church experience stand out (lines 37 -44). (2) ‘A flock of women in coats and fussy hats / flapping over me’ (1) The alliteration focuses the reader on the women’s excitement about the girl. (1) ‘God grabs me in Glasgow with Gran. ’ (1) Alliteration emphasises the sporadic nature of such events. (1) It signals the child making a connection between ‘God’ and ‘Gran’. (1) The capitalised ‘G’ and the use of alliteration hint at the impact these Sundays in church had on her. (1)

By the time I am seven we are almost the same height. She still walks faster, rushing me down the High Street till we get to her cleaning house. The hall is huge. Rooms lead off like an octopus’s arms. I sit in a room with a grand piano, top open – a one-winged creature, whilst my gran polishes for hours. Finally bored I start to pick some notes, oh can you wash a sailor’s shirt oh can you wash and clean till my gran comes running, duster in hand. I told you don't touch anything. The woman comes too; the posh one all smiles that make goosepimples run up my arms. Would you like to sing me a song? Someone’s crying my Lord Kumbaya. Lovely, she says, beautiful child, skin the colour of café au lait. ‘Café oh what? Hope she’s not being any bother. ’ Not at all. You just get back to your work. How do we get a sense that there is a class divide between the speaker and the owner of the house in lines 45 -60? (4) ‘The hall is huge’ (1) Alliteration and long vowels emphasise the child’s sense of wonder at the size of the house compared to her grandmother’s. (1) ‘Rooms lead off like an octopus’s arms’ (1) This simile again shows the child’s perception of the number of rooms and corridors, suggesting the alien nature and scale of the house. (1)

By the time I am seven we are almost the same height. She still walks faster, rushing me down the High Street till we get to her cleaning house. The hall is huge. Rooms lead off like an octopus’s arms. I sit in a room with a grand piano, top open – a one-winged creature, whilst my gran polishes for hours. Finally bored I start to pick some notes, oh can you wash a sailor’s shirt oh can you wash and clean till my gran comes running, duster in hand. I told you don't touch anything. The woman comes too; the posh one all smiles that make goosepimples run up my arms. Would you like to sing me a song? Someone’s crying my Lord Kumbaya. Lovely, she says, beautiful child, skin the colour of café au lait. ‘Café oh what? Hope she’s not being any bother. ’ Not at all. You just get back to your work. How do we get a sense that there is a class divide between the speaker and the owner of the house in lines 45 -60? (4) Quote (1) People like gran and the girl can only touch things in the posh woman’s house if they are cleaning it. This is the only access to this kind of world for people like them. (1) Quote (1) The posh woman is patronising and her language is inaccessible to the grandmother. It suggests that the women are of different classes, with different ways of speaking. (1)

By the time I am seven we are almost the same height. She still walks faster, rushing me down the High Street till we get to her cleaning house. The hall is huge. Rooms lead off like an octopus’s arms. I sit in a room with a grand piano, top open – a one-winged creature, whilst my gran polishes for hours. Finally bored I start to pick some notes, oh can you wash a sailor’s shirt oh can you wash and clean till my gran comes running, duster in hand. I told you don't touch anything. The woman comes too; the posh one all smiles that make goosepimples run up my arms. Would you like to sing me a song? Someone’s crying my Lord Kumbaya. Lovely, she says, beautiful child, skin the colour of café au lait. ‘Café oh what? Hope she’s not being any bother. ’ Not at all. You just get back to your work. How do we get a sense that there is a class divide between the speaker and the owner of the house in lines 45 -60? (4) Quote (1) The posh woman is not interested in chatting to the grandmother, she is only in the house to clean it. (1)

Choose one technique Kay She is on the ground floor of a high rise. From her living-room you see ambulances, uses to make the last lines screaming their way to the Royal Infirmary. effective (63 -65)? (2) Contrast with opening lines: The final lines return to the structure of the opening couplet but with key shifts. (1) Again, the view from her window is described, but the view is now of ambulances from the ground floor and not the cemetery from the second floor. This might suggest a drop in status. (1) The sounds are also different – rather than the peaceful, fuss-free silence of the cemetery there is now the noisy, jarring, modern ‘ambulances, screaming’ to the hospital. (1) ‘ambulances, / screaming their way to the Royal Infirmary. (1) This personification immediately makes us think of the urgency of modern living. By moving home, the grandmother has been forced to experience this world. (1) The reference to ambulances / the hospital also anticipates the grandmother’s death, bringing an image of sadness to the end of the poem. (1)

This poem deals with a series of significant moments and memories. Choose at least one other poem that does this and show Kay makes her poems seem poignant to the reader. (8) What are the key words of the question? Which other poems are based on ‘significant moments and memories’? ‘Gap Year’ Kay is reflecting on her relationship with her son as she waits impatiently for him to come home. ‘Keeping Orchids’ Kay describes her first meeting with her birth mother. What does ‘poignant’ mean? ‘causing or having a very sharp feeling of sadness’ ‘Keeping Orchids’ would be the more appropriate poem to write about.

Both ‘My Grandmother’s Houses’ and ‘Keeping Orchids’ deal with significant moments and memories which Kay makes poignant for the COMMONALITY reader. MGH describes Kay’s childhood memories of her close relationship with her grandmother ✔C 1 and KO describes Kay’s first meeting with her birth mother. ✔C 2 One poignant moment in MGH is when Kay describes her grandmother interacting with the ‘posh woman’ in the house which she cleans: ‘Lovely, she says, / beautiful child, skin the colour of café au lait. / ‘Café oh what? Hope she’s not being any bother. ’ / Not at all. Not✔E 1 at all. You just get back to your work. ’ This clearly shows that the grandmother and ‘posh woman’ come from very different worlds. The grandmother doesn’t even understand the EXTRACT woman’s patronising reference to Kay’s skin colour and the woman directs her to get back to work. The woman is not interested in chatting with her and cleaning is the only contact that people like Kay and her grandmother will have with the posh woman’s world and her expensive, fancy belongings. ✔E 2

Kay describes the orchids which her birth mother gave her at their first meeting: ‘Although / some of the buds remain closed as secrets’ ✔O 1 The orchids symbolise the relationship between the two women. Some of them have not opened which is poignant OTHER 1 as this connects the flowers to the mother and her reticence about her past. This simile conveys the idea of concealment, mystery, something impenetrable, a truth that’s unknown as her mother refuses to open up emotionally to her daughter. ✔O 2 Another poignant line from KO is when Kay writes: ‘Her voice is fading fast. Even her voice rushes ✔ 03 through a tunnel the other way from home. ’ The poet struggles to remember her mother after their meeting, the OTHERthe 2 loss of connection between alliteration in ‘fading fast’ emphasising the two women. Her mother’s voice ‘rushes through a tunnel’ away from her as she forgets its sound. Kay and her birth mother are moving in opposite directions literally and emotionally. ✔ 04

‘Keeping Orchids’

‘Keeping Orchids’ 1. Explain how the speaker’s sense of discomfort is conveyed in lines 1 -12. (4 MARKS) 2. Summarise what is happening in lines 13 -16. (2 MARKS) 3. How do we get the impression the speaker is confused in lines 19 -27? (4 MARKS) 4. How is the last sentence in the poem effective? (2 MARKS) 5. This poem is deeply emotional and personal. Choose at least one other Kay poem and explain how it conveys strong emotions in that poem. (8 MARKS)

The orchids my mother gave me when we first met are still alive, twelve days later. Although some of the buds remain closed as secrets. Twice since I carried them back, like a baby in a shawl, Explain how the speaker’s sense of discomfort is conveyed in lines 112. (4) from her train station to mine, then home. Twice since then the whole glass carafe has crashed Quote (1) Enjambment suggests falling over, unprovoked, soaking my chest of drawers. the strangeness, jarring relationship. (1) All the broken waters. I have rearranged the upset orchids with troubled hands. Even after that the closed ones did not open out. The skin shut like an eye in the dark; the closed lid. Twelve days later, my mother’s hands are all I have. Quote (1) This simile suggests the idea of concealment, mystery, something impenetrable, a truth that’s unknown. This reinforces the discomfort Kay feels as her birth mother will not open up emotionally. Quote (1) Enjambment across couplets again unsettle the reader, again suggesting the divide between mother and daughter. (1)

The orchids my mother gave me when we first met are still alive, twelve days later. Although some of the buds remain closed as secrets. Twice since I carried them back, like a baby in a shawl, from her train station to mine, then home. Twice since then the whole glass carafe has crashed Explain how the speaker’s sense of discomfort is conveyed in lines 112. (4) Quote (1) Kay notes how falling over, unprovoked, soaking my chest of drawers. protective she has been when carrying the All the broken waters. I have rearranged flowers, referring back the upset orchids with troubled hands. Even after to when Kay was a baby that the closed ones did not open out. The skin in need of protection, care and love – none of shut like an eye in the dark; the closed lid. which her birth mother Twelve days later, my mother’s hands are all I have. could provide, showing her discomfort during Quote (1) the meeting. (1) This suggests the idea of separation – ‘her’ and ‘mine’, then ‘home’. This suggests the emotional distance between the women. (1)

The orchids my mother gave me when we first met are still alive, twelve days later. Although some of the buds remain closed as secrets. Twice since I carried them back, like a baby in a shawl, from her train station to mine, then home. Twice since then the whole glass carafe has crashed Explain how the speaker’s sense of discomfort is conveyed in lines 112. (4) Quote (1) Kay conveys the sudden falling over, unprovoked, soaking my chest of drawers. and intense event of the flowers toppling All the broken waters. I have rearranged over, the upset flowers the upset orchids with troubled hands. Even after reflecting her that the closed ones did not open out. The skin emotional upset. Long vowels replicate the shut like an eye in the dark; the closed lid. slow motion fall of the Twelve days later, my mother’s hands are all I have. vase and assonance slows the line down Quote (1) and creates a sense of This deliberately connects the vase falling over to her panic and fright. (1) her own birth, suggesting an emotional disturbance beneath her calm surface appearance. (1)

The orchids my mother gave me when we first met are still alive, twelve days later. Although some of the buds remain closed as secrets. Twice since I carried them back, like a baby in a shawl, Explain how the speaker’s sense of discomfort is conveyed in lines 112. (4) from her train station to mine, then home. Twice since then the whole glass carafe has crashed Quote (1) Her emotion is affecting falling over, unprovoked, soaking my chest of drawers. her deeply implying that meeting her birth All the broken waters. I have rearranged mother for the first the upset orchids with troubled hands. Even after time has unsettled her. that the closed ones did not open out. The skin (1) The transferred shut like an eye in the dark; the closed lid. epithets ‘upset’ and Twelve days later, my mother’s hands are all I have. ‘troubled’ reflect her feelings. (1) Quote (1) This suggests a link between the upset vase and the meeting with the mother. ‘ones’ suggests people as well as the flowers: there are things unresolved that Kay wants to know, but her mother will not open up to her: the closed buds do not open. (1)

The orchids my mother gave me when we first met are still alive, twelve days later. Although some of the buds remain closed as secrets. Twice since I carried them back, like a baby in a shawl, Explain how the speaker’s sense of discomfort is conveyed in lines 112. (4) from her train station to mine, then home. Twice since then the whole glass carafe has crashed Quote (1) This simile again describe falling over, unprovoked, soaking my chest of drawers. the orchids as if they are human. It suggests All the broken waters. I have rearranged confusion, lack of sight, the upset orchids with troubled hands. Even after awareness, understandin that the closed ones did not open out. The skin and gives us an impression of the shut like an eye in the dark; the closed lid. mother’s secretiveness. Twelve days later, my mother’s hands are all I have. (1) Quote (1) Her memory of the meeting is fading, just like the flowers are dying, she cannot remember what her mother is like; this also suggests the idea of her limited biological inheritance from her mother. (1)

Her voice is fading fast. Even her voice rushes Summarise what is through a tunnel the other way from home. happening in lines 13 -16 (2) I close my eyes and try to remember exactly: a paisley pattern scarf, a brooch, a navy coat. The poet struggles to remember her mother after their meeting. (1) Her mother’s ‘voice rushes through a tunnel away from’ her showing that she is forgetting its sound. (1) Kay lists the fragments of memories. In trying to recall her, Kay lists her mother’s items of dress but she significantly fails to mention her mother’s face, her expressions and gestures, showing that she doesn’t have a clear memory of her as a person. (1)

and suddenly grow old – the proof of meeting. Still, her hands, awkward and hard to hold fold and unfold a green carrier bag as she tells the story of her life. Compressed. Airtight. A sad square, then a crumpled shape. A bag of tricks. Her secret life – a hidden album, a box of love letters. A door opens and closes. Time is outside waiting. I catch the draught in my winter room. Airlocks keep the cold air out. How do we get the impression the speaker is confused in lines 19 -27? (4) Quote (1) She is confused by her birth mother’s inability to be tactile with her own daughter. She doesn’t know if she detached by nature or ill at ease with this reunion. (1) Quote (1) Enjambment works with assonance to portray the continual repetition of the action and her discomfort at being forced to confront her past – this behaviour confuses the speaker. (1) Quote (1) Caesura (strong pauses within lines) begin to pile up as things become further fragmented rather than becoming clearer for Kay. (1)

and suddenly grow old – the proof of meeting. Still, her hands, awkward and hard to hold fold and unfold a green carrier bag as she tells the story of her life. Compressed. Airtight. How do we get the impression the speaker is confused in lines 19 -27? (4) Quote (1) These minor sentences suggest that the mother has A door opens and closes. Time is outside waiting. perhaps simplified I catch the draught in my winter room. her story in order to Airlocks keep the cold air out. deal with her actions. She is not prepared Quote (1) to look back to her The repetition of the indefinite article suggests the mother’s detachment from these items, as well as the past in detail, leading strangeness they must have for Kay as she sees them to confusion for Kay. (1) for the first time. (1) A sad square, then a crumpled shape. A bag of tricks. Her secret life – a hidden album, a box of love letters. Quote (1) The plastic bag changes shape before her eyes, as so much in life does, showing Kay’s confusion as a result of the meeting. (1)

and suddenly grow old – the proof of meeting. Still, her hands, awkward and hard to hold fold and unfold a green carrier bag as she tells the story of her life. Compressed. Airtight. How do we get the impression the speaker is confused in lines 19 -27? (4) Quote (1) Personification - This sentence conveys the idea that time itself is A door opens and closes. Time is outside waiting. suspended. The poet I catch the draught in my winter room. has come away from Airlocks keep the cold air out. her everyday life to meet her mother but Quote (1) Kay’s confusion is shown here – it is not clear whether now must return to her normal life. It these are Kay’s defences or her mother’s. (1) seems nothing will change in her life as a result of the meeting, leaving her confused. (1) A sad square, then a crumpled shape. A bag of tricks. Her secret life – a hidden album, a box of love letters.

How is the last sentence So does cutting the stems with a sharp knife. in the poem effective? (2) The final sentence refers back to the orchids: cutting the stems will prolong the life of flowers (1) It could suggest the mother’s decision to cut ties with her daughter and put her child up for adoption, as she felt it was the best life for her. (1) It could also suggest the cutting of the umbilical cord after birth. It implies that this relationship was cut off in its infancy. (1)

This poem is deeply emotional and personal. Choose at least one other Kay poem and explain how it conveys strong emotions in that poem. (8) Which other poems convey strong emotions? Lucozade Divorce Bed Gap Year My Grandmother’s Houses

This poem is deeply emotional and personal. Choose at least one other Kay poem and explain how it conveys strong emotions in that poem. (8) Summary – how to answer the 8 mark question 1. Commonality: refer to another poem or poems and say what it has / they have in common / in contrast with the given poem. (2) 2. Extract: refer to the extract / poem you have been given in relation to the question. (2) 3. Other 1: refer to a second poem / extract in relation to the question. (2) 4. Other 2: repeat stage 3 for the second or a third poem. (2)