Poems of the Decade: The Furthest Distances I've Travelled Summary Notes (A*)
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Course
Unit 3 - Poetry
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
This document covers the poem: 'The Furthest Distances I've Travelled' from the Poems of the Decade Poetry. I studied this poem for my A Level, Edexcel English Literature Exam as part of the poetry module. By constructing these summarises and notes these provided me with ideas and themes which I co...
• Personal to the persona
• ‘distances’ could be local or between countries
• Connections between places
• Isolating as just ‘I've’
• Forces the reader to question the place they have travelled
• Past tense. Places she has travelled in in retrospective, what they should have done.
• Title uses a superlative to express the milestone. Suggests it is auto-biographical and in the past
Structure:
• Irregular rhyme scheme. Mainly quatrain stanzas but broken by two quintain stanzas. Could
represent the uncertainty and anxieties faced by the persona in her journey
• Half rhyme scheme breaking flow
• Also represents freedom experience by the narrator when discussing their travels in the
beginning of the poem, with a gradual introduction and strict rhyme scheme representing the
restrictions and patterns of everyday life has imposed. Also suggested as representing the
greater clarity and focus the narrator has gained as they have aged, lack of boundaries and
stability
• First few stanzas the rhyme is inconsistent and unclear however as the poem progresses the
rhyme increases in clarity
• Transition of the rhyme scheme allows for alternative interpretations. Rhythm of the poem and
the irregular line length with one-word lines to break the flow of the poem
• Last Stanza an AABB pattern is shown.
• Line length would be one factor to capture the reader's attention
• ‘Weight on my back-’ and ‘like a meridian-’. Dashes creates a longer pause. Represents the
increasing uncertainty of the persona as she travels, and the increasing distances.
• ‘I thought: yes’. Parataxis. Split by a caesura suggesting the monosyllabic response. Persona
closed minded to the struggles of life and looking for freedom in her naivety
• Splitting ‘anonymity’ in the second stanza across two line represents forced enjambment
representing personas own decision to travel which creates confusion because of the new
experiences due to imagery which creates empathy
• Lines are short for the majority of the poem like having the one word ‘however’ on the third line
of the sixth stanza. Final two stanzas transition to all the lines being consistently longer than the
rest of the poem indicates the transition and development in thought of communication
• ‘- on a post-it-’. Having this in dashes suggests the insignificance of the object and the personas
surprise that this was a souvenir that she kept. Nevertheless, it is suggested that even the
somewhat mundane, insignificant and easily ‘throwaways’ able objects resonate with the
persona as they had some significance at the time.
• Longer sentences at the end beginning to come more consistent suggest the loss of the naivety.
The persona remains in the comforts of what she knows rather than daring to face travels again.
, Suggests that as we grow up, we are more aware of the dangers so to desire to stay in one place
for comfort and protection rather than to face it alone
Language:
• ‘Like many folk’ creates this universal tone. Colloquial language with use of ‘folk’ creating this
naïve tone from the person
• ‘First I saddled a rucksack’ becomes representative of the beginning of the personas journey.
The dynamic verb ‘saddled’ specifically becoming symbolic of the ‘rucksack’ in the
determination of the persona. Childlike naivety.
• Poem begins with use of ‘rucksack’ to emphasise a burden and claustrophobic atmosphere
though the persona emphasised further through ideas of ‘weight’ and ‘spine’
• Variety of place names from different locations around the world to represent the idea of travel
and visiting different cultures. Without this travel would seem retrained and less significant
• Simile is used by ‘Curved under it like a meridian’ which suggests the human body but also
demonstrates the geographical link as meridians are imaginary lines from the north and south
poles which divides the earth into degrees of longitude and distance
• Imagery helps to reinforce idea of travel and change but the ideas of different halves and parts
represent a change of situation later on in the poem
• Simile ‘curved like a meridian’ amplifies the human body and a geographical link as meridians
are imaginary line from North to South poles which divides the earth into degrees of longitude
and distance. Equally, meridian is a set of pathways which is vital for energy to flow in Chinese
aquapuncture and medicine. Could suggest the personas spiritual connection and want to learn
about new cultures on her travels
• ‘I thought: yes. This is how/ to live’. Past tense. Excitement and naivety of the younger persona.
The joy at the freedom she was experienced ruined by the adjective ‘beaten’ in ‘track’.
Highlights the obstacles and dangers that were faced along her way. We're exciting at first then
became to increase in anxieties.
• Use of ‘Siberian white cells of scattered airports’ evoke connotations of isolation and
geographical extremity, chowing the huge differences of experiences away from home. The
‘white cells’ could be interpreted as demonstrated the need to explore and travel its ‘natural’.
Meanwhile the juxtaposition of the natural imagery and man-made ‘airport’ amplifies the
development of technology that’s made global travel possible and convenient. The different
locations visited by the persona creates the idea of distance with the use of enjambment.
Suggesting that despite the ability of technology to connect us across the globe, she has never
felt more isolated in completing this journey alone
• ‘It came clear as over a tannoy’. Epiphany of the persona. Sensory imagery of sound. While the
adjective clear places the clarity and enlightenment of the persona which in retrospective she
wishes that she had, had. The symbol of the ‘tannoy’ perhaps connotes a sense of frustration at
the interpretation. Ambiguous as could be from the airplane to announce her arrival or an
internalised monologue. Could be frustration and anxieties building from herself at being so
naïve, and the realisation of her isolation in a foreign country.
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