Genetics

Question 1

main idea

Answer 1

her parents will forever be connected through her as their child despite their separation

• religious link, her parents are one through her
• poem ends by considering her own idea of family + what she will pass on

Question 2

palms and hands

Answer 2

synecdoche - the permanence of their relationship

Question 3

separate lands

Answer 3

metaphorical use of place to convey how they are separated

Question 4

but in me they touch…

Answer 4

argument marker contrasts the metaphorical use of place - they are always connected

Question 5

imagine by a river

Answer 5

natural imagery - could be a boundary or a connection between two places

Question 6

I shape a chapel where a steeple stands

Answer 6

reference to a childish game - childish images a reminder of how they are always connected through her

Question 7

priest reciting psalms
my body is their marriage register

Answer 7

religious references to suggest that their connection is permanent

Question 8

i re-enact their wedding with my hands

Answer 8

through her their is a permanent union

Question 9

take me with you, take me up…

Answer 9

imperatives - demanding future husband to maintain their connection

Question 10

repetition of bequeath

Answer 10

she wants a permanent physical connection

Question 11

couplet in the final quatrain

Answer 11

despite their separation they are eternally connected through her

Question 12

structure comments

Answer 12

villanelle rhyme structure
the form mirrors the complexity of DNA