Eden Rock Flashcards
What type of poem is it?
Familial
What are the key themes?
- Distance
- Parent child relationship
- Memory
- Death
Key quotes for distance?
“Over the drifted stream.” - full stop emphasises the distance, nature is pushing the family apart, distance between being alive and being dead - could be referring to the river Styx - the first of the five rivers of the underworld in Greek mythology, which formed the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead. In the poem, the stream is a metaphor for the separation of the poet from his parents who have passed away, thus is symbolic of the gap between life and death. The stream may also be a symbol for the passing of time.
Key quotes for parent child relationship?
“My mother shades her eyes away and looks at me” - in depth description, remembers exactly what happened, maternal care, looking in awe at the person she raised
Key quotes for memory?
“The sky whitens as if lit by three suns” - simile, surreal imagery, heavenly, entrance to heaven and the afterlife, there were three people in the memory and three suns - the sun lights the world and they lit up each others lives, true familial love, memory is coming to an end due to harsh colour, white is pure but harsh, memory is pure but harsh to look back on as it causes pain - title may allude to garden of eden
“Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.” - the concept of wheat is often used as a metaphor for life and rebirth in the Bible - this story is almost like a rebirth, the mother is being reborn again in his memory, he is reliving this moment - light is just generally quite angelic, so he may be looking at his mum in the past, reflecting on their lives together and now seeing her in this godly light
“The tin cups painted blue” & “straight out of a HP bottle”
Key quotes for death?
“Crossing is not as hard as you think” - crossing the line between life and death is easy, made easier by parents and family being there to support the speaker and get him to be with them
“I had not thought it would be like this.”
What is the context behind Eden rock?
Published in 1988, the poem is thought to be autobiographical: he is perhaps talking about his parents
Causley said that he had made-up the location of Eden Rock - it is a dream-like place, and perhaps reflects an idyllic life rather than his actual life.
What is the structure and form of Eden rock?
Each line of the poem has ten syllables, and most stanzas have four lines - might reflect the secure and reliable nature of this parent’s relationship
The poem uses half-rhymes to create a gentle, flowing rhythm, adding to the laid back and ethereal tone
Monosyllabic final line is separated and the tone shifts to mundane and disappointment - perhaps his own life failed to reflect this imagined/remembered existence
What is the meaning and purpose of Eden rock?
The speaker is reminiscing about his parents as a young couple, as they picnic by a stream - it is written in the present tense to make the memory seem real
They live a simple but happy life; conveying the importance of family and how wealth is not important
They encourage him to cross the stream towards them, possibly symbolising his birth or his death as he joins them in the next life: “Crossing is not as hard as you might think”
What is the tone of Eden rock?
Light
Ethereal
Nostalgic
