What does the first line of the poem reveal about the poet’s feelings towards his son?
He is disappointed in him
He is proud of him
He is not interested in him
‘they run/ in one great heavenly design.’ What structural technique is used here?
An elongated sentence
Enjambement
Rhyme
What is the double meaning in ‘he’s all the earth/ and sky for breathing-space’?
He has all the space to breathe in; he belongs to the earth.
He has all the space to breathe in; he breathes with the earth
He has all the space to breathe in; he is all the world to his father
What is the effect of the repetition ‘breathing-space and breath’?
It emphasises the difficulty Jamie has in breathing
It emphasises the sense of space and time Jamie has to breathe in now
It emphasises the quickness of his breath
What does the word ‘flutter’ suggest?
A slight shaking
Placing a bet
Excitement
Why is ‘We all resent’ a significant point in the poem?
It reminds us that we all get upset sometimes
It changes the mood from frustration to optimism
It moves us from Jamie’s personal experience to a universal exploration
Who is Krishna?
Krishna is the Hindu god of love and compassion and the eighth avatar of Vishnu
Krishna is a Roman god who was admired for his hunting skills
Krishna is an astronomer who discovered several new planets
What does the ‘fourteen-billion-year-old song’ refer to?
The universe
An ancient Sanskrit manuscript
The first poem ever written
Why is the ‘perfect ring’ still not quite perfect at the end of the poem?
It is very small
It is a coffee stain on the table
It exists in muddy water
In what way does the poem have a circular structure?
It ends with another reference to the moon and sun
It ends with the boy ‘screwing up’ another circle
It ends with another ‘circle’ that the boy has this time inadvertently created