A clear narrative follow-on from ‘Show’ – the lovers have had an argument which links in with the idea of ‘skirrid’ as divorce. Father to Son by Elizabeth Jennings– In this poem, the poet portrays the generation gap between a father and his son. The poem presents a father’s illusions regarding his son.

These paths are also marked on various mapping apps. A great free option is maps.me, alternatively consider an annual subscription to OS to have access to all UK OS maps on your mobile. By likening the models to birds and the photographers to a ‘crocodile pit of cameras’, Sheers is increasing the sense of men being a controlling, negative force in the world of women. A moving, striking, illuminating collection, vital and mysterious. Just as it should be.’ – Niall GriffithsSkirrid Hill (Seren) was published in November 2005 and won a Society of Authors Somerset Maugham Award. Skirrid Hill has recently been made a set text on the WJEC and AQA A level syllabuses. It is interesting that his father’s contributions here are weaknesses, a ‘stammer’ and ‘a tired blink’. His mother’s contributions seem to be the more positive attributes; the blue eyes, introspection and his compulsion to write. Things from the natural world, especially ‘Skirrid Hill’ itself is often referred to by female pronouns, creating the indication that nature and its strength are a female quality, whereas the male character is a weaker and more destructive force. The speaker is speculating on what to call this particular day of the year, a day that comes after a day that is after the largest Christian holiday of the year, but decides he does not know what to call it. This placement of the action, on a day that is almost significant, but is not at all, speaks about the relationship between the father and the son that is explored.

That the poet feels that he ‘should have known’ what his father was trying to say by planting the oak highlights their contrasting personalities. Sheers is articulate and uses words as his livelihood; yet he accepts that his father is a quieter character, more likely to speak through actions. The line ‘they were told to walk, not to run’ is a comment on the emotional reserve often attributed to British people, particularly of the upper classes. The idea of these brave men being lead into battle by leaders who do not care for their safety becomes key to the meanings of later poems such as ‘Tea with Dr. Hitler’ and ‘Liable to Floods’.The past, though, was one of heavy industry and difficult and dangerous work. The resources and the people who extracted or worked with them were exploited during the eighteenth and nineteenth century Industrial Revolution. Despite nostalgia for the past, it was an age of terrible living conditions and ruthless exploitation.

The idea that the poet feels that he ‘should have known’ what his father was trying to say by planting the oak further highlights the gap between their personalities. Sheers, a man of words, is likely to be less oblique in his communication, yet he accepts that his father is a more taciturn character, less likely to share his grievances.This poem begins with a clear setting and location, December 27th, on Skirrid Hill. The two characters in the poem, the son, who is the speaker, and the father, in an attempt to become closer, are repeating an activity they must have once found enjoyable, climbing Skirrid Hill. The men do not seem to commune as they progress up the mountain but are consumed in their worlds. Sheers compounds the comparison of this place with Mametz Wood, when he describes his friend’s passed father as ‘a poppy sown in the unripe corn’. The clear semantic links between poppies and the First World War, along with the car-names being described as the ‘names of the dead’ give us the sense that the War is an unshakeable image for Sheers and its effect on Wales extends far beyond the Somme. It also heightens the tension between man and nature as being almost warlike – the ongoing battle between the two is a key theme here.