climbing my grandfather

Question 1

I decide to do it free, without a rope or net

Answer 1

‘free’- adds danger and excitement. He feels confident and comfortable with his grandfather but there’s also an element of risk

Question 2

The old brogues, dusty and cracked

Answer 2

Shows his age and compares the shoes to the dusty foothills of the mountains

Question 3

To an earth-stained hand. The nails are splintered

Answer 3

A detail that a child would notice from playing with his grandfather. Suggest he likes gardening, connection with nature. Splintered nails give the climber a good grip.

Question 4

Is smooth and thick like warm ice

Answer 4

Use of oxymoron creates a child-like simile - simple and contradictory. Affectionate image

Question 5

Knowing the slow pulse of his good heart

Answer 5

The narrator is hinting at the grandfathers steady and warm love for him. The simple monosyllabic line slows the pace of the poem, imitating the grandfather’s heartbeat