Climbing My Grandfather By Andrew Waterhouse

Question 1

Compare poem to

Answer 1

Eden rock (parental )
Follower

Question 2

Extended metaphor

Answer 2

The son is climbing the grandfather but he is described as a great mountain

Question 3

“I decided to do it free, without a rope or net”

What does this show about the struggle of the grandson

Answer 3

Suggests remembering his grandfather is difficult

Start of the imagery of a child climbing a grandfather

Question 4

Structure of the poem

Answer 4

Follows a climbers progress up a mountain-getting higher with each line

Question 5

Form of the poem

Answer 5

Written in present tense
Enjambment imitates the motion of climbing and emphasises the climbers steady progress
Visually the poem looks strong and solid like a mountain

Question 6

“Feeling his heat, knowing the slow pulse of his good heart”

Answer 6

Physically feels the heart beat
Simple, monosyllabic line imitates a heartbeat
Could suggest dying
Juxtaposition

Question 7

“Glass ridge of a scar, place my feet gently in the old stitches and move on”

Answer 7

The grandson is sensitive of things that cause pain to the grandfather form his past
Metaphor-intimate relationship

Question 8

Language of exploration in the poem

Answer 8

Creates a sense of adventure that reflects a child’s excitement
Child like way of noticing and describing details