“Catrin” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Catrin”

“Catrin” Summary

“Catrin” Themes

• 

  Mother-Daughter Closeness and Conflict

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-9
  • Lines 16-17
  • Lines 18-29
• 

  Parenthood and Transformation

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 9-16

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Catrin”

• Lines 1-5

  I can remember ...
  ... the traffic lights.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 6-9

  I can remember ...
  ... Fought over.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-13

  It was a ...
  ... Words,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-17

  coloured the clean ...
  ... to be ourselves.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 18-24

  Neither won nor ...
  ... Defiant glare,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 24-29

  bringing up ...
  ... one more hour.

  

  

  

  

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“Catrin” Symbols

• 

  The Dark

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 28-29: “As you ask may you skate / In the dark, for one more hour.”

“Catrin” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “I can remember you,”
  • Line 6: “I can remember you,”
  • Line 8: “rope”
  • Line 9: “square”
  • Line 13: “squares”
  • Line 16: “We,” “we”
  • Line 17: “To be,” “to be”
  • Line 25: “rope”

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Lines 7-9: “the tight / Red rope of love which we both / Fought over”
  • Lines 11-16: “I wrote / All over the walls with my / Words, coloured the clean squares / With the wild, tender circles / Of our struggle to become / Separate.”
  • Lines 18-20: “Neither won nor lost the struggle / In the glass tank clouded with feelings / Which changed us both.”
  • Lines 24-27: “bringing up / From the heart's pool that old rope, / Tightening about my life, / Trailing love and conflict,”

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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  Where imagery appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-5: “As I stood in a hot, white / Room at the window watching / The people and cars taking / Turn at the traffic lights.”
  • Lines 9-16: “It was a square / Environmental blank, disinfected / Of paintings or toys. I wrote / All over the walls with my / Words, coloured the clean squares / With the wild, tender circles / Of our struggle to become / Separate.”
  • Lines 21-24: “as you stand there / With your straight, strong, long / Brown hair and your rosy, / Defiant glare,”

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “window,” “watching”
  • Line 4: “taking”
  • Line 5: “Turn,” “traffic”
  • Line 6: “remember,” “first”
  • Line 7: “Fierce”
  • Line 8: “Red,” “rope”
  • Line 9: “Fought”
  • Line 12: “walls,” “with”
  • Line 13: “Words,” “coloured,” “clean,” “squares”
  • Line 14: “wild,” “circles”
  • Line 15: “struggle”
  • Line 16: “Separate,” “We,” “want,” “we”
  • Line 17: “To,” “two,” “to”
  • Line 21: “stand”
  • Line 22: “straight,” “strong”
  • Line 26: “Tightening”
  • Line 27: “Trailing”

• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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  Where enjambment appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-3: “white / Room”
  • Lines 3-4: “watching / The”
  • Lines 4-5: “taking / Turn”
  • Lines 6-7: “first / Fierce”
  • Lines 7-8: “tight / Red”
  • Lines 8-9: “both / Fought”
  • Lines 9-10: “square / Environmental”
  • Lines 10-11: “disinfected / Of”
  • Lines 11-12: “wrote / All”
  • Lines 12-13: “my / Words”
  • Lines 13-14: “squares / With”
  • Lines 14-15: “circles / Of”
  • Lines 15-16: “become / Separate”
  • Lines 18-19: “struggle / In”
  • Lines 19-20: “feelings / Which”
  • Lines 20-21: “fighting / You”
  • Lines 21-22: “there / With”
  • Lines 22-23: “long / Brown”
  • Lines 24-25: “up / From”
  • Lines 28-29: “skate / In”

“Catrin” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Confrontation
• Red rope of love
• Environmental blank
• The glass tank

• (Location in poem: Lines 6-7: “our first / Fierce confrontation”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Catrin”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Catrin” Speaker

“Catrin” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Catrin”

More “Catrin” Resources

• External Resources

  • An Interview With Clarke — Listen to a 2018 interview with Clarke in which she discusses Welsh poetry and why it's important to introduce children to creativity early.  

  • Poems On Pregnancy, Birth, and Being a Mother — Browse the Poetry Foundation's collection on poems about motherhood.   

  • Hear the Poet Read "Catrin" Aloud — Listen to Gillian Clarke read and introduce her own poem. 

  • An Introduction to the Poet's Work — Read a biography of Gillian Clark from Poetry International.  

  • British Poet Friends and Collaborators — Read about Gillian Clarke's road trip with fellow contemporary British poets Carol Ann Duffy, Jackie Kay, and Imtiaz Dharker.  

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Gillian Clarke

  • Lament