Eden Rock Flashcards
What is the poem ER about?
Adult remembering his parents and reflecting on his childhood mortality and death.
What is the form of ER?
Half rhymes reflect sense of separation and incompleteness without his parents
regular meter shows dreamlike quality and perfection of memory
What is the structure of ER?
enjambment emphasises link between speaker and parents (talk about lack of enjambment in certain lines)
regular structure makes the final line surprising
What is the context of ER?
Father died in 1924 form WW1 injuries
work is known for simplicity and directness and for associations with folklore
Who is the poem written by?
Charles Causley
What does the title Eden Rock mean?
Eden- biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden and idyllic place
Rock- gravestone, someone stable, an obstacle, heavenly and down to earth
What is special about the last line?
It is monosyllabic and set apart from stanzas showing that he is now alone and separated from his family
What is the perspective of the poem?
written in present tense with much natural imagery and metaphorically reflects on the speakers personal child hood relationship with his late parents. parents are frozen and 23 and 25
What could be said about the half-rhymes used in the poem? SECOND STANZA
“dress” and “stress”
“hat” and “light”
symbolises the incomplete nature of their relationship due to separation also gives sense of immediacy as a full rhyme would be too jovial
What can be said about the colloquialisms used in the poem? THIRD STANZA
“H.P sauce bottle”
“tin cups painted blue”
sense of nostalgia that emphasises how the speaker holds the memories close to heart as they are so detailed
What can the quotes “grass” and “colour of wheat” suggest? SECOND STANZA
natural imagery to maybe show that death is a natural process of life but also that love can transcend death
Finish and analyse the quote: “The sky________ three _____ LINE 13
“the sky whiten as if lit by three suns”
- hints at something supernatural in contrast with ordinary imagery of previous stanzas
-heavenly and pure
What can be said about his parents being frozen in time?
“Genuine Irish-Tweed
-pureness of something genuine
“Her hair… takes on the light”
-angelic imagery
-idolisation of his parents in a perfect state
Analyse the quote: “crossing is not as hard as you might think”
-metaphor for crossing into death
-parents want to be reunited again
