Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse Flashcards
Climbing My Grandfather
The poem encourages children to engage with their grandparents because they have a lot to learn from their life experiences and wisdom. The elderly in the society should not be marginalised.
General Context
- Waterhouse is lectured in an agricultural college. It implies that the speaker in the poem, like the poet, gained an interest in agriculture from the grandfather who loved the nature and gardening.
- The poet is emphasising the importance of grandparents in the grandchildren’s lives in a western society that often does not value them.
‘climbing my grandfather’
L - extended metaphor
I -
1. Grandfather is an imposing physical presence.
2. The journey of climbing up a mountain is just like the journey of the speaker getting to know his grandfather.
‘I decided to do it free’
L - verb
The speaker has made an independent decision to explore his grandfather and he is determined.
I - the speaker does not have to ensure his safety because
1. He feels safe with his grandfather
2. Getting to know someone deeply carries emotional risks
‘pushing into the weave’
L - noun
Trousers are usually made out of tightly woven fabric which may suggests that it is hard to get to know the grandfather as the speaker has to push in emotionally.
‘his finger is smooth and thick like warm ice’
L - oxymoronic simile
The speaker’s grandfather may seem cold and reserved on the surface but has a warm heart.
‘on his arm I discovered…a scar’
‘place my feet gently’
L - adverb
The speaker cares deeply about his grandfather. He is respectful that he does not want to reopen his emotional wound.
D - grandfather has emotional scar that is painful.
‘his still firm shoulder’
L - adjective
Implies the grandfather has led on an active life so he is still strong physically.
D - the speaker is metaphorically standing on his shoulder suggests the grandfather is an emotionally strong support to the speaker.
‘for climbing has its danger’
L - noun
Climbing the mountain means getting to know his grandfather.
The speaker might learn things that make him uncomfortable or are too painful for his grandfather to remember.
‘pupil slowly open and close’
L - verb
As pupils get smaller when they focus on something that is physically close, it means that the speaker is emotionally close to his grandfather.
‘feeling his heat’
I -
1. suggests grandfather’s personality is warm
2. suggests their relationship is warm
The poem has no stanzaic break and a lot of enjambment with only some full stops but the last six lines do not have full stop
The enjambment relates to the mountain and the continuous nature of the climb while the full stops represent the rest breaks before the next stage of the climb.
The no stopping represents the speaker’s determination to keep going until he achieves his objectives of reaching the summit or getting to know his grandfather.
Written in free verse
The speaker feels free to get to know hid grandfather better but climbing freely is not without risks, in this case, emotional risks.
Reader Response
- encouraged to know their grandparents
- guilty
