Brothers

Brothers

elder brother has responsibility to look after younger brother
1. him and friend are exasperated with him - but excited to be out on own
2. send younger brother back to get bus fare whilst they run off and leave
Form
1. narrative poem
2. written free verse
Structure
1. 1st stanza- establishes relationship between brothers
2. 2nd- youngest had to go back while the others ran off
3. 3rd-describes how youngest got left behind and hints impact this may have had
language of youth
1. much of poem contrasts youngers youthful exuberance witth elders sense of self-possession and maturity
  1. still mixed with imagination of children
2. 'I was 9 he was 10'
  1. contrast between how young they are and how grown up they feel at time
3. 'spouting six yr old'
  1. alliteration-sense of the contempt he feels at this moment for his brother, his views are worthless due to age
4. 'ridiculous Rotherham united'
  1. alliteration- emphasise how ridiculous he thinks younger brothers views are
  2. Rotherham less fashionable club than Sheffield
5. 'windmilled'
  1. innocent joy but also childish
Language about maturity
1. older 2 think their mature as talk and act confident
  1. but poem write with hindsight of actual maturity
    1. sees that was bad moment for relationship
2. 'doing what grown ups do'
  1. sense of assumed maturity
    1. think they know it all
3. 'saddled'
  1. emphasise his frustration
  2. first word of poem-direct start to emphasise looking after brother was inconvenience
  3. stuck with him
4. 'stroll'
  1. older boys move more slowly and with confident
5. 'ambled'
  1. mature thing to do
'what must've been a coin'
1. now to far away to see
'I ran on, unable'
1. not clear if he can't or simply doesn't want to
2. gap in relationship
'close the distance I'd set in motion'
1. ambiguous- physical distance between them & metaphorical, moves away from brother due to age
'threadbare'
1. relationship worn quite thin
Feelings& attitudes
1. frustration
  1. want to get away from brother
2. guilt
  1. narrator presents young brother as eager, using childlike/innocent terms -makes narrators actions worse
3. regret
  1. poem suggests that he wanted to go back and also wish he could close distance in relationship

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	Created by eilishhardy about 10 years ago