#65

Love & Relationships — Letters from Yorkshire (Maura Dooley)

AQA English · Exam

Core thesis (AO1)

Anthology: AQA Past and Present (Love & Relationships), poem starts p.12.

One-sentence thesis: (write a flexible interpretation you can adapt to most questions)
Alternative angle: (a second, defensible reading that still fits the poem)

Make a clear point about the relationship (power, distance, memory, conflict, etc.).
Use short, precise quotes (2–6 words) and zoom in on key words.
Analyse method → effect → meaning (not feature-spotting).
Mention structure (shifts/turns/endings) to show control.

Form: (e.g. sonnet / dramatic monologue / free verse / lyric)
Structure: (e.g. volta/shift, cyclical ending, contrast, narrative movement)
Language: (e.g. semantic fields, imagery, sound, diction, tone)

Context window: modern
Useful AO3 angle: (link context to why the poet might present love/relationships this way)
Don’t do: long history dumps — keep it to 1–2 lines that support a method point.

Keep memorised quotes short. In this pack we avoid reproducing full poem text; use the anthology page reference above.

"breaking ice on a waterbutt clearing" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"February digging his garden planting potatoes" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"waterbutt clearing a path through snow" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"watching the same news in different" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"so breaking ice on a waterbutt" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"potatoes he saw the first lapwings" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"planting potatoes he saw the first" → AO2: diction → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)
"knuckles singing as they reddened in" → AO2: simile → meaning: (what this suggests + why it matters)

Interpretation 1 (argument): The poem presents the relationship as complex (tension between affection and conflict/power), shown through precise imagery such as "breaking ice on a waterbutt clearing" and shifts in tone/voice.
Interpretation 2 (methods-led): Structural movement (set-up → development → ending) controls the reader’s response; details like "February digging his garden planting potatoes" can be used to track a change in perspective or emotional intensity.
Interpretation 3 (alternative angle): The poem can be read as exploring identity/memory/reputation in relationships; micro-details like "waterbutt clearing a path through snow" allow you to argue a subtle viewpoint rather than simple love/hate.

Pair 1: (poem) — shared theme + different method
Pair 2: (poem) — shared idea + different viewpoint
Pair 3: (poem) — similar structure (shift/ending) for a high-quality compare