Our love now

GCSE English Literature

Study of a named selection of 15 poems to help students prepare for the unseen response.

Study of one themed collection of 15 poems from a choice of four collections from the Edexcel Poetry Anthology

The unit is assessed through a 1 hour and 45 minute examination, set and marked by Edexcel.

There are two sections in the examination paper – students answer one question on an unseen poem in Section A and one question on their poetry collection studied in Section B.

Clean copies of the Anthology may be used in the examination.

The total number of marks available is 50.

To understand how the writer uses the following key features to present ideas, themes and settings: voice

imagery

language choice

rhyme and rhythm

tone and mood

form and structure.

Write a short recollection of an argument with a friend or family member. How did the argument go: was it a one-sided

rant or a heated exchange between you?

Learning Objectives

As we study this poem you will learn about:

• The story of the poem

• Dialogue poems

• More about the terms,

Metaphor – Tone – Imagery – Denial

• You will also complete some mini tasks, a test and an assignment on the poem.

“Our Love Now” – Martyn Lowery

“Our Love Now” – Martyn LoweryI said,

observe how the wound heals in time, how the skin slowly knitsand once more becomes whole.The cut will mend, and suchis our relationship.

I said,observe the scab of the scald,the red burnt flesh is ugly,but it can be hidden.In time it will disappear,Such is our love, such is our love.

I said,remember how when you cut your hair, you feel different, and somehow incomplete. But the hair grows - before longit is always the same.Our beauty together is such.

I said,listen to how the raging storm damages the trees outside.The storm is frighteningbut it will soon be gone.People will forget it ever existed.

The breach in us can be mended.

She said,Although the wound healsand appears cured, it is not the same. There is always a scar,a permanent reminder.Such is our love now.

She said,Although the burn will no longer sting and we'll almost forget that it's therethe skin remains bleachedand a numbness prevails.Such is our love now.

She said,After you've cut your hair,it grows again slowly. During that time changes must occur,the style will be different.Such is our love now.

She said,Although the storm is temporary and soon passes,it leaves damage in its wake which can never be repaired. The tree is forever dead.Such is our love.


Mini Task 1Write down:

1. Your first reaction to the poem.

2. Who you sympathise with and why.

3. Anything unusual you notice about the poem.


The Story of the PoemA couple try to reconcile their differences after an incident,

possibly a violent argument. The man tries to pretend there is

nothing wrong and things can go back to the way they were. The

woman knows things have changed and can never be the same

again and that the relationship is dead.




Mini Task 1

1. Your reaction is your reaction, but I would hope that you would have realised that the man has done something to hurt the woman , either physically or emotionally.

2. I’m afraid my sympathies go with the woman here…the man just doesn't get it or understand and blindly carries on in the hope everything is going to be OK.

3. The structure is unusual. You can in fact read the poem down the ‘He said’ side and then down the ‘She said’ side. I prefer to read it across, like a tennis match, so you create the effect of an argument.




Mini Task 2What are the Key features of these two stanzas?




Mini Task 2What are the Key features of these two stanzas?Imagery and Metaphor.

The violent imagery of the wound ….what caused it…physical, emotional or mental?

Using the ‘wound’ as a metaphor for a damaged relationship….

So ‘wound ‘ is used in two ways , visually and metaphorically and of course this ‘wound’ will not heal, even though the bloke thinks it will.


observe the scab of the scald,the red burnt flesh is ugly,but it can be hidden.In time it will disappear,Such is our love, such is our love.


Mini Task 31. What is the Key word in each of these two stanzas?2. What about the metaphor?


observe the scab of the scald,the red burnt flesh is ugly,but it can be hidden.In time it will disappear,Such is our love, such is our love.


Mini Task 31. What is the Key word in each of these two stanzas?2. What about the metaphor?

1. He Said ‘hidden’…..just ‘cos you hide something does not mean it has gone away, you are just masking or ignoring the problem.She said ‘almost forget’ which of course means you do remember the cause of the pain. (I am also drawn to ‘numbness’ as a metaphor for being emotionally numb

2. The metaphor continues, so it is an extended metaphor which evolves as we go through the poem.


remember how when you cut your hair, you feel different, and somehow incomplete. But the hair grows - before longit is always the same.Our beauty together is such.


Mini Task 4

1. How has the imagery/metaphor changed in each of these two stanzas?

2. What do you notice about line 6 of ‘He said’ and Line ‘5 & 6’ of ‘She said’?


remember how when you cut your hair, you feel different, and somehow incomplete. But the hair grows - before longit is always the same.Our beauty together is such.


Mini Task 4

1. How has the imagery/metaphor changed in each of these two stanzas?

2. What do you notice about line 6 of ‘He said’ and Line ‘5 & 6’ of ‘She said’?

1. The violent imager is disappearing as the metaphor changes from destruction to growth….but in that growth there is change. What grows back is not the same as was there before.

2. He sees the relationship as ‘beautiful’….she sees it has changed and that their relationship is different.


listen to how the raging storm damages the trees outside.The storm is frighteningbut it will soon be gone.People will forget it ever existed. The breach in us can be mended.


Mini Task 51. What is the Key word in each of these two stanzas?2. Compare the last two lines of each stanza.


listen to how the raging storm damages the trees outside.The storm is frighteningbut it will soon be gone.People will forget it ever existed. The breach in us can be mended.


Mini Task 51. What is the Key phrase in each of these two stanzas?2. What is the ‘storm’?3. Compare the last two lines of each stanza.

1. He ‘The breach in us can be mended.‘ She ‘The tree is forever dead.’

2. A metaphor for their ‘stormy’ relationship.3. He thinks they can re-build their relationship. She knows it’s

dead.

“Our Love Now” – Martyn LoweryStructure

The poem is written in free verse in 8 stanzas or 4 matched pairs of stanzas.

The form of the poem is a dialogue between a couple who are having difficulties with their relationship. The dialogue is an argument where the man tries to prove the relationship is still viable, but the woman concludes that the relationship is ‘dead’.

Repetition is a key feature of the poem as each stanza starts ‘He said’ or ‘She said’. This means that the poem can be read across or down one side and then the other. The refrain ‘Such is our love’.

Interestingly the man only mentions ‘love’ once, in Stanza 2. The woman mentions it in every stanza. The man mentions relationship, beauty and breach instead.


Tone & Pace

This is quite a sad poem and despite the violent imagery it is not an angry poem. I think the anger has come before the poem starts and this is the man’s attempt to try to repair the damage that this ‘stormy’ argument has caused. The woman seems weary of the arguments and resigned to the fact that the relationship is over.

The pace of the poem is very even almost as if the couple are trying to control their anger. This even pace is helped by the absence of rhyme and the presence of only one example of alliteration, ‘scab of the scald’ in stanza 2 (man).

Education

Our love now