Walking Away

Question 1

Give a short summary of the Walking away.

“In this poem, the speaker reflects on
…”

Answer 1

In this poem, the speaker reflects on ‘letting go’ of his son on his first day of school. Although the experience is painful, the speaker reaches a point of acceptance.

Question 2

“like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem,”

Answer 2

Walking Away
“loosened” = gentle verb - parent is coming to terms.
Natural imagery = necessary part of nature connotes new beginnings +acceptance

Question 3

“Gnaws at my mind still. Perhaps it is roughly..”

Answer 3

Walking Away
“Gnaw” = Metaphor connotes pain, and biting.
Caesura = symbolises his lingering memory of this day. Symbolises separation of father and son?

Question 4

“/Behind a scatter of boys.”

Answer 4

Walking Away
Enjambment = line is unending.
Reflects parents anxiety

Question 5

“a half-fledged thing set free/ Into a wilderness…”

Answer 5

Walking Away
“half-fledged” = metaphor - vulnerability
“Wilderness” = Danger, unpredictability, unknown danger, son seems lost.
Shows the view point of the father; he isn’t ready to let go, still sees his son as fragile etc