Praise song - created from Mind Map

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structure

The poem is based around the first three stanzas of three lines each, which are very similar in format. The fourth stanza begins in the same way as the first three but is extended, bringing attention to the poem's final line about the daughter's expanding horizons and moving towards "wide futures", as if reflecting the way in which the mother's care for her has allowed her to grow and move on.

language

he use of the past tense - for example the repeated "You were" - anchors this poem, making it clear that it is written as if the speaker is looking back on childhood and the influence of her mother. The first three stanzas end with a line that lists - with repeated "and"s - three qualities of the mother. The third stanza uses a metaphor to compare the mother to sunrise and ends "rise and warm and streaming". Here the writer's purposeful use of simplistic syntax (order of words and sentences) and grammar reflects the perspective of childhood, and perhaps also hints at dialect from her earlier years.

themes and ideas

The main idea of the poem Praise Song... is that parents - specifically mothers - are a source of nourishment for children, consistently providing them with the essential basics that are needed in order to flourish into adulthood. The key word in the poem is "replenishing", repeated to reinforce the reliability of the mother in providing what the daughter needs to develop and overcome life's challenges.

comparison

nettles

Nettles is also about the relationship between a parent and a child, although it is from the perspective of the parent. It is also about a specific event, whereas Praise Song... is concerned with the overall impression created. In each it is clear that the parent is providing security to their offspring. Both end with the idea of an uncertain future; in Nettles this is quite negative, whereas Praise Song... hints at a more successful future.

Praise song