The Armada
By Brian Patten
Long, long ago
when everything I was told was believable
and the little I knew was less limited than now,
I stretched belly down on the grass beside a pond
and to the far bank launched a child’s armada.
A broken fortress of twigs,
the paper-tissue sails of galleons,
the waterlogged branches of submarines –
all came to ruin and were on flame
in that dusk-red pond.
And you, mother, stood behind me,
impatient to be going,
old at twenty-three, alone,
thin overcoat flapping.
How closely the past shadows us.
In a hospital a mile or so from that pond
I kneel beside your bed and, closing my eyes,
reach out across forty years to touch once more
that pond’s cool surface,
and it is your cool skin I’m touching;
for as on a pond a child’s paper boat
was blown out of reach
by the smallest gust of wind,
so too have you been blown out of reach
by the smallest whisper of death,
and a childhood memory is sharpened,
and the heart burns as that armada burnt,
long, long ago.
Summary of The Armada
- Popularity of “The Armada”: The poem ‘The Armada’ is an expression of sorroww and was written by Brain Patten, a celebrated English poet, and author. It first appeared in his book, Armada, in 1996. The poem explores the beauty of the child-parent relationship. However, it also demonstrates how the writer’s mother’s death brings about his ruin. The poem became extremely popular due to its universal theme.
- “The Armada”, As a Representative of Loss: The poem unfolds the intense grief of the speaker who lost his mother during his childhood. It all starts as he shares some candid reminiscences from his childhood. He explains how he used to play with a paper boat beside a pond. Unfortunately, his happy childhood turned bitter due to his mother’s illness, which was progressively worsening. He remembers how he used to sit close to his mother’s bed during her last days. However, after her demise, he used to feel her gentle touch while sitting alone in the pond. He skillfully illustrates a parallel between her mother’s passing and the paper boat. Unlike a paper boat that sinks in water, his mother also disappeared in the kingdom of death, leaving him amid tension and chaos.
- Major Themes in “The Armada”: Death, sufferings, and horrific memories of childhood are the major themes of the poem. The poem brilliantly sheds light on the suffering of a child whose mother died ages ago, but the memory of her death still haunts him. He recalls how his joyous childhood turned into a nightmare when his mother was diagnosed with terminal illness. He used to spend time in the hospital beside his mother’s bed. The clever choice of words suggests that he wanted to enjoy the bliss of childhood, yet the unfavorable circumstances barred him from doing so.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Armada
literary devices make simple poems into masterpieces. Their appropriate usage connects the audience with the writer’s message. Brian Patten also inserted some literary devices in this poem, whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /ee/ in “so too have you been blown out of reach” and again the sound of /ee/ in “I kneel beside your bed and, closing my eyes.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /b/ in “been blown out” and the sound of /l/ in “less limited.”
- Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a person, place, thing, or idea of a historical, cultural, political, or literary significance. Brian Patten alludes to battle that the parent is facing due to illness such as; “and the heart burns as that armada burnt,/long, long ago.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ in “the waterlogged branches of submarines” and the sound of /n/ in “and the heart burns as that armada burnt”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example:
“Long, long ago
when everything I was told was believable
and the little I knew was less limited than now.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “and the heart burns as that armada burnt”, “I kneel beside your bed and, closing my eyes,” and “I stretched belly down on the grass beside a pond.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows sorrow and death as extended metaphors to show how they cast a negative shadow on someone’s life.
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. The poet has personified death in the poem such as,
“so too have you been blown out of reach
by the smallest whisper of death.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of death, sadness, and relationship just to show the grief of a child.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Armada
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetoric devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. “The Armada” is a single stanza poem.
- Repetition: There is a repetition of the words “long, long ago” which has created a musical quality in the poem.
- Refrain: A verse or line occurring repeatedly at some distance in a poem is called a refrain. The words, “long, long ago” is, therefore, a refrain.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “The Armada” are useful to quote when talking about innocent childhood.
“Long, long ago
when everything I was told was believable
and the little I knew was less limited than now,
I stretched belly down on the grass beside a pond
and to the far bank launched a child’s armada.”