KINGDOM 2 Flashback Discuss 1. What chores do you usually carry out in your house?
2. Do you agree that ordinary moments with people we love can sometimes create the most valuable memories?
Understand
1. What weekly chore do Heaney and his mother engage in while the others are at Mass? 2. What does Heaney do while the priest says ‘prayers for the dying’? 3. Locate the point in the poem where the tone changes. 4. Find two examples of images that appeal to the senses in this poem.
Explore 3
1. Do you agree that the time Heaney spent with his mother was special? Support your answer with evidence from the poem.
2. Describe your response to the poem. Begin your answer with the following statement: While reading the poem I ...
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3. Choose a poem that you have studied as part of your Junior Cycle English course that focuses on a relationship.
(a) Name the poem and the poet. (b) What did you learn about the relationship described in the poem?
Create
In this poem, Heaney explores a memory from his childhood. Write a paragraph about an important memory from your own childhood.
Tone is a poet’s attitude towards the subject matter of a poem.
