Welsh writing in E nglish

1. The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English Choose a task Choose a task based on the poem. Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity E Activity F

2. Activity A The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English Read the whole poem. Think about how you might break it into different sections to study more closely. Menu 1 That March night I remember how we heard a baby crying in a neighbouring room but found him sleeping quietly in his cot. i The others went to bed and we sat late talking of children and the men we loved. You thought you’d like another child. ‘Too late,’  i you said. And we fell silent, thought a while of yours with his copper hair and mine, a grown daughter and sons. i Then, that joke we shared, our phases of the moon. ‘Sisterly lunacy,’ I said. You liked the phrase. It became ours. Different i as earth and air, yet in one trace that week we towed the calends like boats reining the oceans of the world at the full moon. i Suddenly from the fields we heard again a baby cry, and standing at the door listened for minutes, eyes and ears soon used i to the night. It was cold. In the east the river made a breath of shining sound. The cattle in the field were shadow black. i A cow coughed. Some slept, and some pulled grass. I could smell blossom from the blackthorn and see their thorny crowns against the sky. Consider the different time phases in the poem. See if you can break it up into different times. How long a time does the poem as a whole cover? Consider how the sentences are structured. Might sentences be used to break up the poem into different sections? Click here to view next stanzas 2

3. Activity A The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English Read the whole poem. Think about how you might break it into different sections to study more closely. Menu 2 And then again, a sharp cry from the hill. ‘A hare,’ we said together, not speaking of fox or trap that held it in a lock i of terrible darkness. Both admitted next day to lying guilty hours awake at the crying of the hare. You told me i of sleeping at last in the jaws of a bad dream. ‘I saw all the suffering of the world in a single moment. Then I heard i a voice say “But this is nothing, nothing to the mental pain”.’ I couldn’t speak of it. I thought about your dream as you lay ill. i In the last heavy nights before the full moon, when its face seems sorrowful and broken, I look through binoculars. Its seas flower i like cloud over water, it wears its craters like silver rings. Even in dying you menstruated as a woman in health i considering to have a child or no. When they hand me insults or little hurts and I’m on fire with my arguments i at your great distance you can calm me still. Your dream, my sleeplessness, the cattle asleep under a full moon, i and out there the dumb and stiffening body of the hare. Consider the different time phases in the poem. See if you can break it up into different times. How long a time does the poem as a whole cover? Consider how the sentences are structured. Might sentences be used to break up the poem into different sections? Click here to return to the beginning of the poem 1

4. Activity B The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English Frances Horovitz was an English poet and a close friend of Gillian Clarke. She died at 45 years old. How does this section of the poem build a picture of the closeness between the two women? Menu That March night I remember how we heard a baby crying in a neighbouring room but found him sleeping quietly in his cot. i The others went to bed and we sat late talking of children and the men we loved. You thought you’d like another child. ‘Too late,’  i you said. And we fell silent, thought a while of yours with his copper hair and mine, a grown daughter and sons. i Then, that joke we shared, our phases of the moon. ‘Sisterly lunacy,’ I said. You liked the phrase. It became ours. Different i as earth and air, yet in one trace that week we towed the calends like boats reining the oceans of the world at the full moon. i That March night I remember how we heard a baby crying in a neighbouring room but found him sleeping quietly in his cot. i The others went to bed and we sat late talking of children and the men we loved. You thought you’d like another child. ‘Too late,’  i yousaid. And we fell silent, thought a while of yours with his copper hair and mine, a grown daughter and sons. i Then, that joke we shared, our phases of the moon. ‘Sisterly lunacy,’ I said. You liked the phrase. It became ours. Different i as earth and air, yet in one trace that week we towed the calends like boats reining the oceans of the world at the full moon. i Look at the first three stanzas separately. Suggest ideas about how the friendship between them is shown in each. Look at the pronouns used in this section. How do they help to build a picture of the closeness between the women? Click to show highlighted words. In the last two stanzas what ideas might the poet want us to think about with the image of the moon? (‘calends’ is the first days of a new moon cycle).

5. Activity C The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English Look again at the stanzas already studied, this time arranged in sentences. What effects does the poet create by organising the stanzas as she does in the poem? Menu Read aloud each version of the text – the one Gillian Clarke wrote and the one rearranged in sentences. What differences can you hear? That March night I remember how we heard a baby crying in a neighbouring room but found him sleeping quietly in his cot. The others went to bed and we sat late talking of children and the men we loved. You thought you’d like another child. ‘Too late,’ you said. And we fell silent, thought a while of yours with his copper hair and mine, a grown daughter and sons. Then, that joke we shared, our phases of the moon. ‘Sisterly lunacy,’ I said. You liked the phrase. It became ours. Different as earth and air, yet in one trace that week we towed the calends like boats reining the oceans of the world at the full moon. i Why did the poet choose to end a line in the middle of a sentence at ‘Too late,’ and ‘Different’? What effect does it create?

6. Activity D The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English What mood is evoked in these stanzas, and how does the poet create this mood? Menu Underline words and phrases which create a calm, beautiful or serene atmosphere. Click to show highlighted words. Underline words and phrases which suggest a more tense mood. Click to show highlighted words. Suddenly from the fields we heard again a baby cry, and standing at the door listened for minutes, eyes and ears soon used  i to the night. It was cold. In the east the river made a breath of shining sound. The cattle in the field were shadow black.  i A cow coughed. Some slept, and some pulled grass. I could smell blossom from the blackthorn and see their thorny crowns against the sky. i Pick out two images which seem to create different moods and consider why the poet may have used them.

7. Activity E The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English What effect does the death of the hare have on the two women? Menu And then again, a sharp cry from the hill. ‘A hare,’ we said together, not speaking of fox or trap that held it in a lock  i of terrible darkness. Both admitted next day to lying guilty hours awake at the crying of the hare. You told me  i of sleeping at last in the jaws of a bad dream. ‘I saw all the suffering of the world in a single moment. Then I heard  i a voice say “But this is nothing, nothing to the mental pain”.’ I couldn’t speak of it. I thought about your dream as you lay ill. Look at the first two stanzas. Underline the adjectives which show how dreadful it was to witness the killing of the hare. Think why the words ‘cry’ and ‘crying’ are used to describe the sound made by the dying animal. Look at the next two stanzas. Identify the strong image used to describe the dream the poet’s friend has. Why do you think the poet chose this image? The poet twice refers to not being able to speak to her friend about something. What can’t be spoken about and why? What impact does this have?

8. Activity F The Hare– by Gillian Clarke – (In memory of Frances Horovitz 1938–1983) Welsh writing in English What does the memory of the night in March mean to the poet and how is this conveyed? Menu Compare the image of the moon in the first two stanzas here with the way it is described earlier in the poem. Which words and phrases are important? Click to show highlighted words. i In the last heavy nights before the full moon, when its face seems sorrowful and broken, I look through binoculars. Its seas flower  i like cloud over water, it wears its craters like silver rings. Even in dying you menstruated as a woman in health  i considering to have a child or no. When they hand me insults or little hurts and I’m on fire with my arguments i at your great distance you can calm me still. Your dream, my sleeplessness, the cattle asleep under a full moon, i and out there the dumb and stiffening body of the hare. Think about why the poet breaks the structure of the poem in the last line. What significance does the memory of the night with her dead friend have for the poet? What is important about the dead hare, in your view, based on your reading of the poem?