Poem| Walking Away - by Cecil Day-Lewis

Question 1

Walking Away, by Cecil Day-Lewis

Answer 1

It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day —
A sunny day with leaves just turning,
The touch-lines new-ruled — since I watched you play
Your first game of football, then, like a satellite
Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away

Behind a scatter of boys. I can see
You walking away from me towards the school
With the pathos of a half-fledged thing set free
Into a wilderness, the gait of one
Who finds no path where the path should be.

That hesitant figure, eddying away
Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem,
Has something I never quite grasp to convey
About nature’s give-and-take — the small, the scorching
Ordeals which fire one’s irresolute clay.

I have had worse partings, but none that so
Gnaws at my mind still. Perhaps it is roughly
Saying what God alone could perfectly show —
How selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go.

Question 2

Summary / Explanation

Answer 2

Summary / Explanation
* The poem reflects on a father watching his son grow up and become independent, using a memory of his son walking away to school.

• The speaker struggles with the bittersweet nature of letting go but concludes that love is about allowing independence.
  The central theme is the balance between attachment and letting go, a universal experience of parenthood.

Question 3

Context

Answer 3

The poem was published in 1962 in the collection The Gate and Other Poems and is dedicated to Day-Lewis’s first son, Sean, reflecting on a moment when he watched Sean walk into school.

Cecil Day-Lewis’s own experience of attending boarding school gave him insight into the pain and anxiety of separation from both the parent’s and child’s perspectives.

Day-Lewis died in 1972, and this poem is one of his most famous works, often celebrated as a reflection on childhood and parenthood.

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

Structure
* Four stanzas of five lines each (quintains).

• Written in iambic pentameter, which gives it a steady, reflective rhythm.
• The rhyme scheme is ABACA, creating a cyclical, contemplative feel—mirroring the father’s ongoing thoughts about the memory.

Question 5

Tone

Answer 5

**Reflective and tender: **The speaker looks back on this moment with warmth and understanding.

Bittersweet and melancholic: The father feels pain in letting go but acknowledges it as necessary.

Philosophical: The poem moves from personal memory to a broader truth about love and independence.

Melancholic means feeling deeply sad, reflective, or gloomy, often in a thoughtful or poetic way. It’s not the kind of sadness where you’re crying or overwhelmed, but more a quiet, lingering sadness that makes you think about life, loss, or change.

Question 6

Feelings and Attitudes(3)

Answer 6

Protectiveness, Loss and Reflection

Question 7

Symbolism

Answer 7

Satellite: Represents the son being wrenched out of orbit (family) into his own independent path.

**Winged seed: ** Symbolizes the natural process of growth and separation, like a seed drifting from its parent plant.

Half-fledged thing: A metaphor for the son, not fully ready to face the world but having to anyway.

Wilderness: Represents the unknown future the son faces.

Question 8

Key Literary Devices

Metaphor

Answer 8

“Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit” → The suddenness and force of separation.

“Winged seed loosened from its parent stem” → Growth and inevitable departure.

Question 9

Key Literary Devices

Simile

Answer 9

“Like a satellite” → Emphasizes the sense of disconnection.

Question 10

Key Literary Devices

Imagery

Answer 10

“Sunny day with leaves just turning” → Autumnal imagery reflects change and transition.

Question 11

Key Literary Devices

Repetition

Answer 11

“Walking away” → Reinforces the central theme of separation and growth.

Question 12

Themes

Answer 12

Parent-Child Relationship:
Focus on the emotional struggles of a parent as their child gains independence.

Love and Letting Go:
True love is shown through allowing freedom, even when it’s painful.

Growth and Change:
Highlights the natural and necessary process of growing up.

Question 13

Rhyme Scheme

Answer 13

The ABACA pattern gives the poem a flowing, contemplative rhythm.

Question 14

Adjectives

Answer 14

Adjectives
Reflective
Bittersweet
Philosophical
Tender
Poignant
Melancholic

Question 15

FORM

Answer 15

The poem uses a first-person narrator, emphasizing its personal and reflective tone.

The ABACA rhyme scheme represents the steadiness of the father’s love, while the repetition of the ‘A’ rhyme mirrors how this memory continues to affect him over the years.
The uneven line lengths symbolize the changing nature of the father-son relationship as the son grows and gains independence.

Question 16

“How selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go”-

What does this show?

Answer 16

Shows the circular structure of the poem.

Rhythm becomes steady to show how the father has come to an understanding and by him walking away, the son is finding his own identity and the father is proving his love by letting him go.

‘proved’ shows us he knows he is doing the right thing. Relating to all parents’ struggle.

Question 17

“Half-fledged”
What image does this create?

Answer 17

“Half-fledged” creates the image of a young bird that is not fully ready to fly but has to leave the nest.

It suggests vulnerability and uncertainty, reflecting the son’s early steps towards independence.

This highlights the father’s concern for his son as he faces the challenges of the world.

Question 18

“God alone could perfectly show”
What could this represent

Answer 18

God alone could perfectly show” uses religious imagery, referring to how God let Jesus go to Earth, where he was crucified, as a way to show love for humanity.

**This comparison **highlights how difficult it is to let go of someone you love, suggesting it’s a sacrifice only God could fully understand.

Question 19

“Like a satellite / Wrenched from its orbit”
What does this show?

Answer 19

The figure of speech in lines 4-5,
“like a satellite / Wrenched from its orbit,” is a negative simile showing unnatural separation.

like a satellite - compares the son’s separation from his father to a satellite being forcibly removed from its orbit.

Wrenched emphasizes the sudden and unnatural feeling of their parting, highlighting the father’s emotional struggle as he realizes he’s no longer central to his son’s life. .

A negative simile is a comparison that conveys a sense of loss, discomfort, or unnaturalness. Instead of emphasizing harmony or similarity, it highlights disconnection, struggle, or something going wrong.

Question 20

“the leaves just turning”
what does this show

Answer 20

“The leaves just turning” symbolizes change and transition, reflecting the shift in the father-son relationship.

It represents growth and maturity, linking the moment to life’s natural cycles.

Question 21

Paraphrase lines 14-15
“The small, the scorching / Ordeals which fire one’s irresolute clay.”

Answer 21

Paraphrase:
The small but intense challenges in life shape and strengthen a person’s character, like fire hardens soft clay.

Question 22

What conclusion does the poet come to through his
reflections? Quote to justify your answer.

Answer 22

The poet concludes that letting go is an essential part of love and growth. He realizes that allowing his son independence is both painful and necessary for his self-discovery.

This is expressed in the lines:

“How selfhood begins with a walking away, / And love is proved in the letting go.”
These lines emphasize that true love involves allowing someone to grow, even if it means experiencing personal loss.

Question 23

Why is the word “gnaws” (line 17) so effective here?

Answer 23

The word “gnaws” is effective as it conveys persistent emotional pain, showing how the memory still deeply troubles the father. It emphasizes the difficulty of letting go and the depth of his love.

Question 24

How effective are lines 8-10 in explaining how children
strive for independence? Substantiate your answer.

With the pathos of a half-fledged thing set free
Into a wilderness, the gait of one
Who finds no path where the path should be,”

Answer 24

Lines 8-10, effectively show children’s struggle for independence.

• The metaphor “half-fledged thing” shows their vulnerability,
• while “wilderness” highlights the challenges they face.
• The “gait of one who finds no path” shows their uncertainty as they try to find their way.

Question 25

what is “a scatter of boys”

Answer 25

A “scatter of boys” means a group of boys spread out or moving in different directions.

Metaphor highlighting the unorganised nature of the boys