Climbing My Grandfather Flashcards
Form
- Present tense
* Follow narrators journey up mountain
Why use enjambment
•Imitates motion of climbing and emphasises climbers steady progress
Visually effect of poem
•Strong and solid like mountain
Structure
•Climbers progress up mountain from bottom to summit - higher with each line poem
Language about mountains
- Extended metaphor grandfather
* Mountain show how grandson sees him- permanent,reliable part life + something impressive explore
Language about exploration
- Climbing metaphor = sense adventure - reflects child’s excitement + enjoyment play grandfather
- Child like way notices + describes shows fascination features discovered
Language personal discovery
•Can be read adult learning about grandfather - adult in tone + complex language
What does the climbing metaphor show
•Narrator actively trying to get to know grandfather as person
Feeling and attitude:
Inquisitiveness
- Simple, childlike curiosity grandfather
* Interest reflected adventurous + fascination small details
Feeling and attitude:
Effort
•Narrator wants make effort know grandfather + be close -shown physical nature climb + exhaustion feels end
Feeling and attitude:
Closeness
- Narrator affectionately describes grandfather + way smile - show comfortable each other
- Physical closeness as climbing reflects close emotional relationship
About
- Narrator imagines climbing grandfather- extended metaphor
- Himself = climber + grandfather = mountain
- Narrator maybe imagining/ remembering himself as child, playing w/ grandfather + observing things or getting to know
Form:
“Decide” and “I change/ direction”
- Decide = present tense- reader feel like witnessing climb happen = sense adventure
- I change = enjambment reflects change of direction
Language exploration:
“Free”
Adds danger and excitement to child’s game
Language exploration:
“Without a rope or net”
- Confident and comfortable with grandfather + element risk
* start extended metaphor
Language exploration:
“Earth-stained”
- Detail child notices
- suggest like gardening - hint connection nature
- possibly explain why described as mountain
Language exploration:
“Like warm ice”
- oxymoron = childlike simile -simple + contradictory
* affectionate image - not cold like ice is
Language exploration:
“Stare into his brown eyes, watch a pupil slowly open and close”
Child like fascination simple things
Language exploration:
“The slow pulse of his good heart”
(Last line)
- Physically feel heartbeat but hint grandfather steady, warm love for grandson
- simple monosyllabic line slows pace poem = grandads heart beat
Language exploration:
“Firm shoulder, I Rest for a while”
“Rest for a while”
•Climbing imagery turns familiar image child sitting adults shoulder
Language mountains:
“Dusty and cracked”
- Compares shoes dusty foothills mountain
* can reflect age
Language mountains:
“Ridge of a scar”
Ridge
•part mountain like scar part grandfather + something to explore
Language mountains:
“(Soft and white at this altitude)”
Grandfathers white hair like snow top mountain
Language personal discovery:
“Direction”
Suggest run difficulty + taking different approach
