Relationships between parents and children

Marking points

1. 1 Addresses both 'Farther' and 'My Angels' in relation to relationships between parents and children.
2. 2 Develops comparison between the poems rather than treating them as two isolated responses.
3. 3 Analyses language, form and structure used to create meanings and effects.
4. 4 Uses relevant textual references and quotations to support interpretation.
5. 5 Explores ideas, attitudes, tone and atmosphere in relation to parent-child relationships.
6. 6 May use the mark scheme's specific indicative points about togetherness, comfort, the climb metaphor, angelic imagery, memory, role exchange or realism about challenges.

Full-mark answer

A strong answer would compare the poems as reflections by grown children on parents. In 'Farther', Sheers presents the relationship through the shared climb. The repeated sense of being 'together' suggests closeness, but the steep slope, wind and the 'intersection of our ages' also make the poem aware of ageing and separation. The final image of every step apart bringing the speaker closer to his father captures a complicated mixture of love, fear and understanding. 'My Angels' is more openly grateful and celebratory. Faircloth's angel metaphor presents the parents as protectors who helped the speaker through a 'cold careless world', and the final promise to become their support reverses the earlier parent-child role. Both poems value parental love, but Sheers is more subtle and elegiac, while Faircloth is direct and reassuring.