The poem 'Catrin' by Gillian Clarke explores themes of love, conflict, and the desire for independence between a parent and child as they navigate their emotional bond. The text also includes tasks for analyzing the poem and drawing connections to another work, 'Coraline,' focusing on family relationships. Through detailed line analysis and word class tallying, students are encouraged to engage deeply with the text to enhance understanding.

1. Catrin – Gillian Clarke

2. Catrin – Gillian Clarke
I can remember you, child,
As I stood in a hot, white
Room at the window watching
The people and cars taking
Turn at the traffic lights.
I can remember you, our first
Fierce confrontation, the tight
Red rope of love which we both
Fought over. It was a square
Environmental blank, disinfected
Of paintings or toys. I wrote
All over the walls with my
Words, coloured the clean squares
With the wild, tender circles
Of our struggle to become
Separate. We want, we shouted,
To be two, to be ourselves.
Neither won nor lost the struggle
In the glass tank clouded with feelings
Which changed us both. Still I am fighting
You off, as you stand there
With your straight, strong, long
Brown hair and your rosy,
Defiant glare, bringing up
From the heart's pool that old rope,
Tightening about my life,
Trailing love and conflict,
As you ask may you skate
In the dark, for one more hour

3. Task 1
Read through the poem

4. Task 2
In pairs analyse each line of the poem
annotating what the line is saying, what
language the writer is using and what effect
the poem is having on the reader etc.

5. Task 3
Now look at words in each line and make a tally
of the word classes and see which one is most
used and discuss why you think so.
conjunctions pronouns adjectives prepositions adverbs nouns verbs
IIII II IIIII
IIIII
IIIII III IIIII
IIIII
IIIII
IIIII
IIIII
III
A COPY OF THIS TABLE IS ON THE NEXT SLIDE TO BE PRINTED AND USED BY STUDENTS

6. Conjunctions Pronouns Adjectives Prepositions Adverbs Nouns Verbs

7. What does this poem have to do
with Coraline?
What is Coraline about?
Family relationships
What is Catrin about?
Children – family`s
How do they link?

8. Conclusion of the poem
What you have written about each line/verse
now needs to be written up into a exam style
answer?

9. How does Catrin link in with
Coraline?
So you might start by saying.
Catrin links in with Coraline because in the first
line it says “ I can remember you, child,” the
use of two commas implies she paused after
the world “you” and “child” to create
emphasis on the two words.
Then you would go onto say in the second verse
or whatever. Then conclude by saying. Both

10. How does Catrin link in with
Coraline?
So you might start by saying.
Catrin links in with Coraline because in the first
line it says “ I can remember you, child,” the
use of two commas implies she paused after
the world “you” and “child” to create
emphasis on the two words.
Then you would go onto say in the second verse
or whatever. Then conclude by saying. Both