1. ALASKA
By Simon Armitage

2. Read the poem aloud: What does the title represent?
What tone of voice is needed when reading the poem?
Does the tone of voice change during the poem?
Where is the turning point – or the volta – in the poem?

3. Stanza 1
What clue, in the opening stanza, suggests the speaker is speaking to someone directly?
Look carefully at the punctuation in the opening stanza. How does this contribute towards the tone?

4. Stanza 2
Look at the verb ‘rattling’. What impression do you gain of the speaker’s life through this verb choice?
Look at the epithet ‘girl’ which is repeated throughout the poem? What impression do you gain about the speaker’s attitude through the use of this word?

5. Stanza 3
Look at the stanza break between stanzas 2 and 3. What is the effect of the alliteration?
How does the adjective ‘icy’ relate to the poem’s title? What clues can you gain about the speaker’s attitude?
What impression do you gain, from this stanza, about the ‘girl’s’ life with the poem’s speaker?

6. Stanza 4
In this stanza the speaker confirms that he imagines how the ‘girl’ must see him: ‘you must picture me’. The last two lines of this stanza are monosyllabic – how does this contribute towards the tone of voice?

7. Stanza 5
How does the assonance ‘scrap heap’ contribute towards the poem’s tone?
In this stanza, there is a change of direction, or a volta, as the speaker moves from how he thinks the ‘girl’ perceives him to how he thinks of her.
The tone changes here from bitter to what? Give evidence.

8. Stanza 5 continued…
In this stanza the speaker declares he only missed the ‘girl’, ‘when hauling in the sheets’. This shows that he is being practical (and therefore unromantic) rather than emotional.
What does this suggest about the attitude of the speaker and can we, as readers, look below the surface and imagine the ‘girl’s’ life with this man?

9. Stanza 6
The language is softer in this stanza with the subtle sibilance and less harsh consonants such as ‘h’; ‘hand in hand’. What do you detect about the speaker’s hidden feelings?

10. Stanza 7
The Bering Strait is an area of water between Alaska and Russia. This would suggest separation from the ‘girl’ in the poem.
Look at the pronouns in this stanza and the position of those pronouns. What does this suggest about the speaker’s feelings?

11. Layout
Remember, when analysing poetry, you MUST analyse the layout of the poem.
The poem looks regular on the page through its seven stanza with five lines in each stanza. But, when read aloud, it does not sound regular. In fact, the enjambment is used, not just between lines, but between stanzas as well.
What does this suggest about outward impression and inward feelings?

12. Layout and meaning
The visual appearance of the poem is at odds with the rather disjointed reading of the poem. Likewise, the tone is at odds with the hidden meaning of the poem. We only get a hint about the speaker’s true feelings towards the end of the poem. On the surface, he has moved on - below the surface, he misses her terribly.