1. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery Starter Write a short recollection of an argument with a girlfriend or family member. How did the argument go: was it a one-sided rant or a heated exchange between you?

2. Learning Objectives As we study this poem you will learn about: The story of the poem Dialogue poems More about the terms, Metaphor: Tone: Imagery: Denial. You will also complete some mini tasks, a test and an assignment on the poem. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery

3. I said, observe how the wound heals in time, how the skin slowly knits and once more becomes whole. The cut will mend, and such is our relationship. I said, observe the scab of the scald, the red burnt flesh is ugly, but it can be hidden. In time it will disappear, Such is our love, such is our love. I said, remember how when you cut your hair, you feel different, and somehow incomplete. But the hair grows - before long it is always the same. Our beauty together is such. I said, listen to how the raging storm damages the trees outside. The storm is frightening but it will soon be gone. People will forget it ever existed. The breach in us can be mended. She said, Although the wound heals and appears cured, it is not the same. There is always a scar, a permanent reminder. Such is our love now. She said, Although the burn will no longer sting and we'll almost forget that it's there the skin remains bleached and a numbness prevails. Such is our love now. She said, After you've cut your hair, it grows again slowly. During that time changes must occur, the style will be different. Such is our love now. She said, Although the storm is temporary and soon passes, it leaves damage in its wake which can never be repaired. The tree is forever dead. Such is our love.

4. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery Mini Task 1 Write down: 1.Your first reaction to the poem. 2.Who you sympathise with and why. 3.Anything unusual you notice about the poem.

5. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery The Story of the Poem A couple try to reconcile their differences after an incident, possibly a violent argument. The man tries to pretend the re is nothing wrong and things can go back to the way they were. The woman knows things have changed and can never be the same again and that the relationship is dead.

6. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery Structure The poem is written in Free Verse in 8 stanzas or 4 matched pairs of stanzas. The form of the poem is a dialogue between a couple who are having difficulties with their relationship. The dialogue is an argument where the man tries to prove the relationship is still viable, but the woman concludes that the relationship is ‘dead’. Repetition is a key feature of the poem as each stanza starts ‘He said’ or ‘She said’. This means that the poem can be read across or down one side and then the other. The refrain ‘Such is our love’. Interestingly the man only mentions ‘love’ once, in Stanza 2. The woman mentions it in every stanza. The man mentions relationship, beauty and breach instead.

7. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, observe how the wound heals in time, how the skin slowly knits and once more becomes whole. The cut will mend, and such is our relationship. She said, Although the wound heals and appears cured, it is not the same. There is always a scar, a permanent reminder. Such is our love now. Mini Task 1 1.Your reaction is your reaction, but I would hope that you would have realised that the man has done something to hurt the woman, either physically or emotionally. 2.I’m afraid my sympathies go with the woman here…the bloke just doesn't get it or understand and blindly carries on in the hope everything is going to be OK. 3.The structure is unusual. You can in fact read the poem down the ‘He said’ side and then down the ‘She said’ side. I prefer to read it across, like a tennis match, so you create the effect of an argument.

8. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, observe how the wound heals in time, how the skin slowly knits and once more becomes whole. The cut will mend, and such is our relationship. She said, Although the wound heals and appears cured, it is not the same. There is always a scar, a permanent reminder. Such is our love now. Mini Task 2 What are the Key features of these two stanzas?

9. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, observe how the wound heals in time, how the skin slowly knits and once more becomes whole. The cut will mend, and such is our relationship. She said, Although the wound heals and appears cured, it is not the same. There is always a scar, a permanent reminder. Such is our love now. Mini Task 2 What are the Key features of these two stanzas? Imagery and Metaphor. The violent imagery of the wound ….what caused it…physical, emotional or mental? Using the ‘wound’ as a metaphor for a damaged relationship…. So ‘wound ‘ is used in two ways, visually and metaphorically and of course this ‘wound’ will not heal, even though the bloke thinks it will.

10. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, observe the scab of the scald, the red burnt flesh is ugly, but it can be hidden. In time it will disappear, Such is our love, such is our love. She said, Although the burn will no longer sting and we'll almost forget that it's there the skin remains bleached and a numbness prevails. Such is our love now. Mini Task 3 1.What is the Key word in each of these two stanzas? 2.What about the metaphor?

11. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, observe the scab of the scald, the red burnt flesh is ugly, but it can be hidden. In time it will disappear, Such is our love, such is our love. She said, Although the burn will no longer sting and we'll almost forget that it's there the skin remains bleached and a numbness prevails. Such is our love now. Mini Task 3 1.What is the Key word in each of these two stanzas? 2.What about the metaphor? 1.He Said ‘hidden’…..just ‘cos you hide something does not mean it has gone away, you are just masking or ignoring the problem. She said ‘almost forget’ which of course means you do remember the cause of the pain. (I am also drawn to ‘numbness’ as a metaphor for being emotionally numb 2. The metaphor continues, so it is an extended metaphor which evolves as we go through the poem.

12. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, remember how when you cut your hair, you feel different, and somehow incomplete. But the hair grows - before long it is always the same. Our beauty together is such. She said, After you've cut your hair, it grows again slowly. During that time changes must occur, the style will be different. Such is our love now. Mini Task 4 1.How has the imagery/metaphor changed in each of these two stanzas? 2.What do you notice about line 6 of ‘He said’ and Line ‘5 & 6’ of ‘She said’?

13. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, remember how when you cut your hair, you feel different, and somehow incomplete. But the hair grows - before long it is always the same. Our beauty together is such. She said, After you've cut your hair, it grows again slowly. During that time changes must occur, the style will be different. Such is our love now. Mini Task 4 1.How has the imagery/metaphor changed in each of these two stanzas? 2.What do you notice about line 6 of ‘He said’ and Line ‘5 & 6’ of ‘She said’? 1. The violent imager is disappearing as the metaphor changes from destruction to growth….but in that growth there is change. What grows back is not the same as was there before. 2. He sees the relationship as ‘beautiful’….she sees it has changed and that their relationship is different.

14. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, listen to how the raging storm damages the trees outside. The storm is frightening but it will soon be gone. People will forget it ever existed. The breach in us can be mended. She said, Although the storm is temporary and soon passes, it leaves damage in its wake which can never be repaired. The tree is forever dead. Such is our love. Mini Task 5 1.What is the Key word in each of these two stanzas? 2.Compare the last two lines of each stanza.

15. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery I said, listen to how the raging storm damages the trees outside. The storm is frightening but it will soon be gone. People will forget it ever existed. The breach in us can be mended. She said, Although the storm is temporary and soon passes, it leaves damage in its wake which can never be repaired. The tree is forever dead. Such is our love. Mini Task 5 1.What is the Key phrase in each of these two stanzas? 2.What is the ‘storm’? 3.Compare the last two lines of each stanza. 1.He ‘The breach in us can be mended.‘ She ‘The tree is forever dead.’ 2.A metaphor for their ‘stormy’ relationship. 3.He thinks they can re-build their relationship. She knows it’s dead.

16. Our Love Now – Martyn Lowery Tone & Pace This is quite a sad poem but despite the violent imagery it is not an angry poem. I think the anger has come before the poem starts and this is the man’s attempt to try to repair the damage that this ‘stormy’ argument has caused. The woman seems weary of the arguments and resigned to the fact that the relationship is over. The pace of the poem is very even almost as if the couple are trying to control their anger. This even pace is helped by the absence of rhyme and the presence of only one example of alliteration, ‘scab of the scald’ in stanza 2 (man).