Eden Rock Flashcards
“They“ are waiting for me
L: plural pronoun
We wonder who he is talking about and why are they waiting for him
R: creates intrigue for the readers
D: the poem begins with a plural pronoun, as he sees them as a couple
C: wishful thinking on part of poet as his father died young and he was raised by his widowed mother
“Same suit” the dog is “still” two
His description is based off a picture - implies the father is frozen in time
C: reflects fact the poets father died when he was 7 and memories have been based on photographs
“Somewhere”
L: adverb
His parents are in an afterlife, a living person cannot know the afterlife as they are BEYOND LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION
“Eden”
Causley makes a biblical reference
- we associate Eden with paradise (a perfect place)
—> him being reunited with his parents will be like paradise
“The colour of wheat, takes on the light”
L: lyrical imagery
Symbolises a halo or spiritual light that emanates from her
He sees his mother as angelic or a spiritually pure figure
“H.P. sauce-bottle”
The brand names create a sense of familiarity - you can vividly visualise it
“As if lit by three suns”
L: simile
This changes the tone of the poem as it becomes surreal with description of 3 suns
“Leisurely”
L: adverb
The speakers parents are relaxed and reassuring him that death is not to be feared
“Drifted stream”
L: metaphor
The stream metaphorically represent a boundary between life and death
“Path”
The path emphasises that many people have gone before him from life to the after,I’ve and have created a path for other people to follow
I had not thought “it” would be like this
L: ambiguous pronoun
Refers to heaven, reflects that death is a taboo subject
What can you say about the structure of the stanzas (quatrains —> 7-line stanza)
Shift in focus as speaker moves from life to his parents in the afterlife
Why does Causley use a single line stanza?
The stanza break before the final one line stanza represents the liminal space between life and afterlife
Why does Causley end-stop the last line of the second stanza?
Wants to emphasise his mothers spiritual light
Why does Causley chose not to use a rhyme scheme?
I: reflects the uncertainty of what lies ahead
- reflects the lack of restrictions/ freedom in the afterlife
