Walking Away Flashcards
Context for the poem?
Written by Cecil Day-Lewis who was the British Poet Laureate at one point
The poem was written just before the son from his second marriage was born
Reflects on Day-Lewis’s relationship with his first son from his first marriage
How is love presented in the poem?
Parental and distant
What are some themes in the poem?
Independence, guilt, expectation
“Leaves just turning”
Pathetic fallacy - start of school in autumn, could also signify a change in the subject’s relationship
“Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit”
Simile - child has been forcefully removed from fathers guidance
Father is reluctant for him to go
Also could mean the father already has a path set out for him (orbit)
“Half-fledged thing”
Metaphor - isn’t quite ready but is still forced to go, vulnerable, like a bird pushed from the nest
“Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem”
Nature Simile - child is growing up and finding independence, no longer protected by parent
However could mean the son has no control and is just being directed by the wind
“Drifting away”
Repetition - emphasises distance between parent and child
“Ordeals which fire one’s irresolute clay”
Metaphor - initially mouldable and impressionable but over time becomes stronger, changed by the surroundings
“Love is proved in the letting go”
Religious metaphor - God let his son Jesus die so the father is linking his own son to Jesus, reassures the father
Links to other poems?
Mother any distance - both children eventually grow up and have to explore their own path
