Lesson video

Hello, and thank you for joining me for today's English lesson.

My name is Mrs. Butterworth, and I will be guiding you through your learning today.

Now, this lesson is extra special, and I'm particularly excited because we have the poet himself, Simon Armitage, talking about "Mother, any distance" and also his writing in general.

So we'll be watching videos of Simon Armitage talking.

We'll be discussing those and using his ideas and insights to develop our own interpretations of the poem.

Sound good? I can't wait.

Let's get started! So in this lesson, you will use Simon Armitage's comments to develop your interpretations of "Mother, any distance." But before we delve into the lesson, let's look at those all important keywords that we will see throughout the lesson and in the Simon Armitage videos.

These words are umbilical cord, disclose, sentimental, and economy.

Now, umbilical cord is the tube connecting a baby to its mother in the womb, supplying nutrients and oxygen.

So, Simon Armitage talks about the umbilical cord and the metaphor of the tape measure in the poem.

Disclose means to reveal or make information known.

Sentimental is all about expressing or being influenced by tender feelings or emotions, and it's often associated with an excessive outpouring of emotion.

Now, economy in the sense of how we'll use it today is a careful use of resources to avoid waste.

So you'll notice today that Armitage talks about the economy of a phrase, so how that phrase is economical, if you like, how it does a lot with a little.

The outline of our lesson looks like this.

We're going to begin by reading "Mother, any distance" with the poet, Simon Armitage.

Then we're going to consider his intentions before moving on to developing analysis with Simon Armitage.

So let's begin.

So the first video you are going to watch is Simon Armitage introducing his poem "Mother, any distance." And after that, you're going to answer these questions.

So let's read them through now so you have them in your head whilst you are watching the video.

So, where did Armitage get the idea for the poem "Mother, any distance"? What does Armitage say the poem represents, and what does it describe? And what is the significance of the tape measure? Okay, so make sure you are ready because the video is going to play now.

<v ->This poem doesn't have a title</v> because it's taken from a sequence of poems called "Book of Matches." And I got that idea from a party game that we used to play.

You hand around a box or a book of matches, everybody gets one match, and in turn, you strike the match and then you have to tell the story of your life before the match goes out.

And I've always been really interested when we played that game, what people will blurt out about their lives, you know, under the pressure of the heat of the match, but also under the pressure of making disclosures in front of complete strangers.

So this poem represents kind of somebody making a confession to themselves about themselves.

And it describes leaving home, you know, which for a lot of people is a very important occasion.

It was a bit of a sort of anti-climax for me.

I only got about six doors down the road to a rented house about quarter of a mile from here, actually.

And my mum came along to help me measure up for carpets and curtains, and she'd brought with her a tape measure, which in the poem becomes a kind of umbilical cord measuring the distance between us as I'm about to leap off into the rest of my life.

<v ->Okay, great.

Thank you, everyone.

</v> So, now you just need to take a few moments to answer those questions.

So pause the video to give yourself time to do that.

Off you go.

Okay, great, let's just share some feedback and check our own answers.

So that first question, where did Simon Armitage get the idea for the poem? So you might have said that it was actually inspired by a party game played with matches, where each person has the time it takes for a match to burn to tell their life story.

I thought it sounded like a great game.

And Armitage says that he finds the game really interesting because what he finds interesting is what "people will blurt out about their lives under the pressure of the heat of the match." So I thought that was a really interesting idea there.

And he also finds what people will "disclose about themselves to strangers" an interesting aspect of the game.

So the next question, what does Armitage say the poem represents, and what does it describe? So you might have noticed that Armitage says it represents "somebody making a confession to themselves about themselves." So it's almost that really personal, confessional style of poetry.

And he says the poem describes the important occasion of leaving home.

And finally, he recalls his own experiences of leaving home and his mother coming to help him "measure up for carpets and curtains." And I think Armitage reveals a lot, doesn't he, about his own life and, you know, where he moved to in that video.

And then that final question, what is the significance of the tape measure? And Armitage describes the tape measure his mother brought becoming like an umbilical cord.

So it becomes this, like, metaphorical connection between the two of them.

And it measures the distance between them as Armitage is about to, he describes, "leap off into the rest of his life." So it feels like a big deal, doesn't it? A big moment in life.

Okay, so, question for you.

Which statement best describes what the poem "Mother, any distance" represents? So you need to select your answer now.

Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video in order to do that.

Okay, has everybody got an answer? Well done to everyone that got answer C.

It describes the emotional impact of leaving home and becoming independent.

Okay, so for our next video, we're actually going to watch Simon Armitage read the poem.

So, what you'll need to do for your first practise task is whilst you're listening to him read the poem, I'd like you to pick out five words or phrases that come across powerfully in the reading.

So as you are listening and watching, just make sure you've got that idea in your head that you're going to pick out five words or phrases that come across powerfully in the reading, okay? So, make sure you are ready because we are going to watch that video now.

<v ->Mother, any distance greater than a single span</v> requires a second pair of hands.

You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors, the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors.

You at the zero-end, me with a spool of tape, recording length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base, then leaving up the stairs, the line still feeding out, unreeling years between us.

Anchor.

Kite.

A space walk through the empty bedrooms, climb the ladder to the loft to breaking point, where something has to give.

Two floors below, your fingertips still pinch the last 100th of an inch.

I reach towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky to fall or fly.

<v ->Okay, fantastic, and now what I would like you to do</v> is I would like, please, to discuss why did you choose those words? So which five words did you choose, and why? And what impact did they have on you? If you're working on your own, you may wish to think quietly to yourself, or you could even just jot down some ideas, okay? But you will need to pause the video to answer that question.

Off you go.

Great.

Thank you, everyone.

It's really interesting hearing all of your different answers and explanations, which shows how we can all be impacted differently by the same poem, which is really interesting in itself, isn't it? So we have some of our Oak pupils here, so let's look at their answers.

So Andeep chose "Anchor.

Kite." And he says, "The contrast shows the tension between security and independence, which made me feel the speaker's inner conflict." Lovely.

Sofia said, "'To fall or fly.

' So the uncertainty of the ending made me feel anxious but hopeful about the speaker's future." So really lovely personal response there from Sofia.

And Izzy has said "Endless sky" because for Izzy, it creates a powerful image of freedom and possibility, making her reflect on the excitement and fear of growing up.

I love that idea from Izzy that it's actually made her reflect on her own journey in growing up.

So that's great.

Okay, so, over to you now.

I'd like you to consider those answers and discuss, who do you agree with most, and why? Pause the video to get discussing.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

So, now we have looked at the poem.

We've heard Simon Armitage read the poem.

We're now going to consider his intentions and watch some videos of him discussing those around his writing.

So in this video, we're going to watch Simon Armitage discuss how he writes about personal events, okay? And the questions you're going to answer on this video are, what does Armitage mean when he says that personal poems can have "too much heart and not enough head"? And what does Armitage suggest that poems about personal events should do, okay? So once we've watched the video, we'll answer those questions.

But for now, we are going to watch Simon Armitage discuss his writing.

The video will play now.

<v ->There are times when I write poems</v> which are about very personal subjects, and they don't make it into books and I don't publish them.

I think there are occasions when I just put too much heart and not enough head into the poems. And they, you know, they're not doing their job of work, which is to be persuasive and to be subtle.

They're too obvious, and they're too sentimental.

And I try and recognise that and that they don't function as works of art in a public space.

They're too personal, and I sort of withdraw them.

So even the poems which are very autobiographical and are about, you know, private subjects, love, loss of loved ones, and so on and so forth, there's still a kind of manipulation of language going on there because I want to convey an emotion that they're not just diary entries, they're not just, you know, jottings in a journal about things that have happened to me.

I'm trying to make work which is meaningful to people who haven't experienced the same thing as me but somehow recognise the emotion that the poem tries to create.

<v ->Okay, great.

Interesting stuff, eh?</v> So, what I'd like you to do now is just spend a few moments answering those questions.

So you will need to pause the video to get your answers down.

Off you go.

Okay, great.

Let's just share some answers.

So that first question, what does Armitage mean when he says that personal poems can have "too much heart and not enough head"? So you might have said that Armitage conveys the challenge of poems becoming "too obvious" and "too sentimental," which prevents them from functioning as "works of art in a public space." I found that very interesting, actually, because I consider "Mother, any distance" to be quite an emotional and personal poem.

But he describes, actually, it's very challenging to write because he doesn't want it to be overly sentimental.

And he says that Armitage believes that if his poems are overly personal, they are "not doing their job of work," which is to be subtle.

And again, another really interesting point there from Armitage about balancing that emotional and personal with the poem, the poetic form and poetry as art.

What does Armitage suggest that poems about personal events should do? So, you may have noticed that he says that the poems need to convey an emotion, not just be "diary entries." So I think that's, again, a really important intention there.

And he describes how even autobiographical poems have a "manipulation of language." And Armitage believes that the work needs to be "meaningful to people who haven't experienced the same things" but "somehow recognise the emotion that the poems try to create." And I think that universality of emotion that Armitage talks about there is a really interesting point when it comes to thinking about the poem "Mother, any distance." And I think all of these ideas can really help us in our own analysis and own writing on that poem.

So Armitage describes that personal writing can sometimes have "too much head and not enough heart." It's that statement true or false? Come up with your answer now by pausing the video.

Off you go.

Okay, well done to everyone that noticed that is false.

Bit of a sneaky true or false statement there.

But you now need to explain why that statement is false, so pause the video so you can do that now.

Okay, so I'll share an answer.

Hopefully you had something similar.

So you may have noticed that it's actually the other way round, so it's actually too much heart.

So he says they can have "too much heart and not enough head." So it's the other way round, suggesting that excessive emotion can make poems "too sentimental" and "obvious," losing their depth and subtlety.

Okay, so onto our next video.

So in this video, Simon Armitage talks about the relationship between writing as a child and writing as a parent.

So again, some really interesting ideas when we're thinking about the intentions behind "Mother, any distance." And these are the questions we'll be focusing on for this video.

Why does Armitage say he would not write the poem "Mother, any distance" now? What point does Armitage make about rites of passage, and how does this link to the poem? Okay, so, about to watch another video, and that video will play now.

<v ->I don't really think that you,</v> you know, I'm a father, but I don't think that the moment you become a parent, you cross some kind of threshold.

You go on being the child of your parents, you know, even though you are a parent yourself.

But something does shift gradually.

I'm not sure that I would write "Mother, any distance" now.

I think when I wrote that poem, I was still thinking about it from being nearer to it as something that happened.

I mean, it's a rite of passage poem.

It's a poem about leaving home.

It's a poem about growing up.

It's a poem about wondering who you're going to become.

And I guess, you know, from where I am now, I know what I've become.

You know, I understand that more clearly.

But when I was writing that poem and when I was thinking about what happened on the day I left home, I don't think I really had that confident sense of who I was or what would happen to me.

There was still a certain amount of uncertainty around it.

I think I was also wanting to make a point as well about, you know, these rites of passage, these occasions.

They often happen when we're not expecting them.

These transitions in life between one phase of our existence and another, they don't always happen at the formal occasions.

You know, birthdays, weddings, that kind of thing.

Things that we put down as markers, they often happen in more metaphorical ways.

And that day, for me, of leaving home and the incident with the tape measure is more pronounced and vivid in my mind than, you know, my 16th birthday or my 18th or my 21st or whatever.

It was a highly ritualised day full of significance and meaning, on reflection.

<v ->Okay, great.

Thank you, everyone, for watching that.

</v> Again, some very insightful things there to be considering about the poem.

What I would like you to do now, though, is to pause the video to get your answers to those questions down.

Okay, pause the video, and off you go.

Okay, let's feed back our answers.

So, why does Simon Armitage say he would not write the poem "Mother, any distance" now? So you might have said the following, that Armitage explains when he wrote the poem, he was "nearer to it." So it was a point in his life.

It reflects a certain point in his life.

Armitage describes the poem as a "rite of passage" and says it is "about growing up and wondering who you are going to become." Again, another great idea there when we're thinking about the intention behind the poem and why he wrote it.

Armitage explains that he now "knows what he's become," which he didn't know when he wrote the poem.

So he talks about a confidence that he has now through becoming an adult that perhaps he didn't have back then.

So "Mother, any distance" for Armitage reflects the "uncertainty" of that time.

And Armitage states there is now more "confidence," which was not there when he wrote the poem.

So you can see that this poem really sits in a specific moment of Simon Armitage's life.

Okay, and then what point does Armitage make about "rites of passage," and how does this link to the poem? So you might have said, so he describes how "rites of passage" and "occasions" can happen when you least expect them.

And he states that "transitions in life don't always happen at formal occasions." So he talks about that idea that they don't happen when you expect them to happen.

So he talks about birthdays and weddings and things like that, and how actually, those don't end up being the important memories or the important rites of passage.

And he suggests that they often happen at more "metaphorical times." So for Armitage, that "incident with the tape measure" felt more "pronounced" than other formal occasions, hence why he wrote about it.

And he talks about the day, that moving day, and his mother doing the measuring, saying that it was a "highly ritualised day full of significance and meaning." So it meant a lot to him.

Okay, so, now you need to pick the correct statement for A, B, or C.

Which statement best reflects Armitage's view on rites of passage in "Mother, any distance"? So you need to pick A, B, or C.

Pause the video now.

Okay, ready? Well done everyone that said C.

He believes that significant life transitions can happen unexpectedly during everyday moments.

Okay, so we have reached our second practise task, and there is a lot to think about already.

And what I would like you to do for this task is I would like you to identify which quotations from the poem "Mother, any distance" best support the following ideas from the videos, and explain why.

So you do need to make sure that you have a copy of the poem to do this.

So, if you don't have that to hand, I suggest you go and get one now.

And then you will need to identify which quotations from the poem best support the following ideas from the videos, and explain why.

So, those statements are, Armitage suggests that the poem represents "somebody making a confession to themselves about themselves." So look for a quotation that's quite confessional.

Armitage aims for his work to resonate with all readers, enabling them to connect with specific emotions.

The poem is a "rite of passage poem" and explores the uncertainty of "transitions of life." And Armitage explores how "metaphorical times" can become more significant and meaningful than formal occasions.

Okay, great.

So, gather everything you need to complete this task, and when you are ready, pause the video to select those quotations and explain why you have chosen them.

Off you go.

Okay, fantastic.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your ideas.

We have Lucas here, and Lucas is going to share his answers.

So we're going to look through those, and we're gonna have a quick discussion around Lucas's answers.

So for the first statement, Armitage suggests that the poem represents "somebody making a confession to themselves about themselves." Gets a bit wordy that.

(laughing) He chose "The line still feeding out of itself." And Lucas suggests that he picked that line because it suggests self-reflection as the speaker acknowledges their growing need for independence, making a personal realisation.

So I'd just like you, please, to spend a few moments discussing to what extent do you agree with Lucas, and why? So pause the video to discuss that question.

Off you go.

Okay, thank you, everyone.

Let's look at Lucas's second answer.

So the statement is, Armitage aims for his work to resonate with all readers, enabling them to connect with specific emotions.

So the quotation that Lucas has picked is "You at the zero-end, me with a spool of tape, recording length, reporting live." And Lucas explains that the metaphor of measuring distance reflects universal feelings of growing up and separating from parents, making the poem relatable.

So again, I'd like you, please, to spend a few moments just discussing to what extent do you agree with Lucas's answer, and why? So pause the video, and off you go.

Okay, and then here is Lucas's third answer.

So this time, I'm going to ask you to read through that answer yourself and then discuss to what extent do you agree, and why? So pause the video to read Lucas's response and discuss to what extent do you agree, and why? Great, and then Lucas's final answer for that statement number four.

Again, I'm going to ask you to pause the video, read through Lucas's response, and then discuss to what extent do you agree, and why? So pause the video to give yourself time to get that done.

Off you go.

Okay, fantastic.

We are now at the third part of our lesson.

So, we already have a lot from these videos, don't we, in considering why the poem was written and the intentions.

And now we're gonna take that a bit further and develop our analysis through these videos.

So in this video, we're going to listen to Simon Armitage discuss his feelings towards the poem "Mother, any distance." And you're going to answer this question, how does Armitage describe his feelings towards the poem, and what does he say has impacted this? Now, you might find his answer quite surprising.

I'm not gonna say any more.

I'm gonna let the video do the talking, which is going to play now.

<v ->I don't think becoming a parent</v> has made a lot of difference to how I think about that poem or how I read it.

I think what has made a difference is the fact that it's been on the GCSE exam syllabus for so long that I've become kind of numb to it as a piece of writing.

And I think it's quite important to say this, that, you know, you don't really know where poems are going to end up.

Nobody that I know writes a poem with the idea that it might be studied in an exam.

People write poems for all kinds of reasons, but that isn't one of them.

It's just sort of an accident of learning that the poem's ended up there.

I'm very pleased that it did, and I'm proud that it did, but what it's meant for me is that it's become sort of, I don't know, it's sort of lost its meaning to some extent.

And then every now and again, I'll be reading it in a classroom or, you know, to some students at a conference and I'll suddenly remember what the poem is about and how much it meant to me.

And it's almost as if the poem's being recharged as a battery.

But it's more about the experience of overfamiliarity that's my.

That's how I experience that poem now rather than in any other way.

<v ->Okay, great.

</v> So, we've heard the video, so now it is over to you to pause the video to answer that question.

Off you go.

Right, okay, let's feed back some ideas that we have gathered.

So the question is, how does Armitage describe his feeling towards the poem? And what does he say has impacted this? So you might have picked up that he says that the poem being on the GCSE syllabus for so long has actually made him feel "numb" to it.

So I can imagine he has to read this poem quite a lot and read it and see it, and that exposure has made him feel quite numb to it.

And he describes how the poem has "almost lost its meaning." And again, I think that's a really interesting and honest answer from Armitage there.

But, however, he does explain that at times, reading the poem can make it feel "recharged" and remind him of its true and original meaning.

And he now explains that he experiences that poem with "over-familiarity." So he's seen it so much that it's over-familiar.

Okay, true or false time.

Armitage describes feeling "numb" towards his poem "Mother, any distance." Is that statement true or false? Pause the video to come up with your answer now, please.

And a very well done to everyone that said true.

Yes, he describes feeling numb towards his poem.

But we now need to explain why that statement is true, so pause the video to explain your answer now, please.

Great, so you may have come up with something like this.

Armitage reveals that the poem being on the GCSE syllabus has made him feel "numb" to it and describes a sense of "over-familiarity." Okay, so in this video, Simon Armitage explains what he thinks are the most significant words in "Mother, any distance," okay? So this might be something you yourself have thought about before, but we're gonna hear what Armitage himself thinks.

And then you're gonna answer these questions.

What questions does he pose around the significance of the line "Anchor.

Kite"? And why does Armitage say he likes this line? And what does he mean when he refers to its "economy"? Okay? So as you're watching the video, try and have some of those ideas in the back of your mind, okay? Right, so, the video is going to play now.

<v ->The best line in "Mother, any distance,"</v> if I'm allowed to choose a best line in my own poem, are those two one-word sentences next to each other, "Anchor.

Kite." I don't say who is who in the poem or what it means.

So, is my mother the anchor? And if she is, is that a good thing? Does it mean that I'm safe and secure through being tied to her? Or is it something that's stopping me move on? Am I the kite? If so, is that a good thing 'cause I'm flying in the air? Or am I still tied to her, and is she still controlling where I can go and what I can do? And I like the fact that they just, well, one of those words sits there and the other hangs there, and they don't explain themselves.

But I think it's very clear what's going on there, and I like the economy of those two words on their own.

<v ->Wow, lots to think about and contemplate there.

</v> So, now it is over to you to answer those questions.

So pause the video to give yourself time to do this.

Off you go.

Okay, so let's feed back some answers.

So what questions does he pose around the significance of the line? Now, there are a lot of questions, so hopefully you got some of these down.

So you might have said that he says, "Is my mother the anchor? And if she is, is that a good thing? Does it mean that I'm safe and secure through being tied to her? Or is it something that's stopping me from move on?" So I love that multiple interpretation there of the word anchor.

And he does the same with kite, doesn't he? "Am I the kite? If so, is that a good thing that I'm flying in the air? Or am I still tied to her, and is she still controlling where I can go and what I can do?" So I love those kind of multiple interpretations that these questions give us and that ambiguity and emphasising that ambiguity of that line, which I think is fantastic.

And why does Armitage say he likes this line? And what does he mean when he refers to its "economy"? So you might have said that he describes how one of the words "sits there" and the other "hangs there" without "explaining themselves." And he says that they are very clear in their intention and he likes that "economy." And when he talks about that economy, he means the lines are working hard in their simplicity.

So again, there's lots of really interesting ideas here that we can use in our own analysis.

I really like this description of the "Anchor.

Kite." One word sitting there and one word hanging there, like I could almost see that in my own analysis.

Okay, so, I'd like you, please, just to consider Armitage's comments on the line "Kite and anchor" 'cause there were quite a lot of comments there.

And I'd like you to discuss now, how could his comments help you develop your interpretation of the poem? And how might this line reflect the idea of uncertainty, okay? So, if you're working on your own, you may wish to think quietly to yourself or jot down some ideas.

Otherwise, you can discuss those questions.

But do pause the video to give yourself time to do that.

Off you go.

Okay, thank you, everyone, for your suggestions.

Let's have a look at how some of our Oak pupils answered.

So Jun says that "Armitage's questions have highlighted the ambiguity of the words and who they refer to, linking to the idea of uncertainty and life transitions." Sam says, "I really like the 'economy' of the lines and will consider this when exploring the poem further." And finally, Sofia says, "Armitage's different interpretations of the quotation will be helpful for creating layered analysis." That's a really interesting point there, Sofia, and definitely one that I'm going to consider.

"It's also more poignant hearing the poet explain this himself." And I definitely, yeah, understand what Sofia is saying there, because those different questions have really opened up that analysis to multiple interpretations.

But anyway, enough from me, and over to you.

Considering those pupils' answers, I would like you to discuss, please, to what extent do you agree, and why? Pause the video to give yourself time to consider that question.

Off you go.

Okay, so, which statement best explains what Armitage means by the "economy" of the line "Kite.

Anchor." So you'll need to pause the video to select A, B, or C.

Off you go.

Okay, so hopefully everyone has an answer now, and congratulations to everyone that picked up on B.

He likes how the words are clear yet leave room for interpretation.

And we are now going to watch another video.

So in this video, we're going to listen to Simon Armitage discuss what else he would like pupils to notice in the poem "Mother, any distance," okay? So again, hopefully this is gonna really add to your own analysis and interpretations.

And the questions for this video are, what does Armitage say is significant about the "space imagery" in the poem? And how does Armitage link this to the poem.

Okay? So we'll answer those questions after we have watched the video, which is going to play now.

<v ->There's quite a lot of space imagery, I think,</v> in "Mother, any distance," and I think that's kind of generational.

I grew up in that generation where, you know, it was sometimes referred to as the space age, where there was a lot of, you know, every time you turned the tele on, there was somebody walking on the moon.

And I think a lot of my generation wanted to be astronauts.

It was an ambition.

It was seen as the highest ambition.

So, you know, the space walking in that poem was a kind of dream of what I might become, which is, you know, part of what the poem is about.

<v ->Great, let's just feed back our answers.

</v> So you might have said that Armitage states that the "space image" is "generational," placing the poem in a particular time period.

And I think this links back to those initial comments that Armitage made about how he has grown up, like almost grown away from the poem, and it really places it in a particular time.

He refers to this time as "the space age" and acknowledges its cultural significance.

And Armitage explains, at that time, many people dreamed of becoming astronauts, and the poem's "space walking" reflects the "dream" of what he "might become." So it reflects those ideas of uncertainty, reflects the ideas of that future laying out in front of him, and this is all really central to the poem's meaning.

Okay, so so much to think about from those videos, which I have found really insightful and helpful, and I hope you have too.

So let's start bringing those ideas together.

So for your final practise task, I would like you, please, to write a response to the following.

What are five significant things you have learned about "Mother, any distance" from listening to Simon Armitage? And list up to five ways in which listening to Simon Armitage has changed or deepened your interpretation of the poem "Mother, any distance." Okay, so, make sure you have everything you need to complete this task, and pause the video and off you go.

Okay, great.

Thank you, everyone.

It's really lovely to hear how you've all experienced the videos differently and how you are going to use them going forward.

So let's look at part of Jun's response.

So for Jun's first answer, he says that "I have learned that the poem reflects a particular time in Armitage's life and reveals the uncertainty in life transitions." And for his second answer, he says that "Armitage's description of the space imagery and its links to dreams and ambitions has deepened my understanding of the poem, showing how it reflects themes of uncertainty and an unknown future." So what I would like you to do now is just to consider Jun's answers, think about your own answers, and discuss to what extent do you agree, and why? Pause the video to do that now, please.

And a very well done, everyone.

That marks the end of the lesson, and I really hope you've enjoyed hearing Simon Armitage speak and really listening to what he has to say about his own writing.

So let's recap some of the ideas.

We know that Armitage says personal writing must convey a specific emotion.

He describes the poem as a "rite of passage" that explores the uncertainty of life transitions.

Armitage identifies "Kite.

Anchor" as the most significant part, highlighting its effective ambiguity.

Armitage states that the "space imagery" is "generational," placing the poem in a particular time period.

And the final point, which I think is very important, that Armitage's ideas can help develop interpretations of the poem.

And this is something that I'm definitely going to use.

So some of those quotes from the videos and some of those ideas I will definitely use when I analyse the poem and write about it and write my essays.

Okay, again, thank you so much for your hard work, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon in another Oak lesson.

Until then, goodbye.