Walking Away – Cecil Day Lewis:

Question 1

Context:

Answer 1

Dedicated this poem to his first son, Sean.

Question 2

Summary:

Answer 2

A father watches his son play his first football game presumably on his first day of school. It hurts him, but he eventually comes to the understanding that children becoming independent is a natural process.

Question 3

Form:

Answer 3

The poem has a first-person narrator – this emphasises how personal it is. Enjambment and caesura contribute to the rhythm of the poem – making it sound like natural speech. The regular ABACA rhyme scheme reflects the steadiness of the father´s parental love, and the repetition of the ´A´ rhyme shows how the memory of that day continues to affect him. The broken syntax shows his struggle to put his ideas into words.

Question 4

Structure:

Answer 4

The first two stanzas talk about the memory, whereas in the final two he reflects on how the memory still pains him. The final two lines form a conclusion – he understands that it is a necessary part of his son’s development.

Question 5

Natural Imagery:

Answer 5

It is a natural process – but he remains concerned and sees his son as vulnerable.

Question 6

Language about pain:

Answer 6

Violent verbs show the process is traumatic for the father and difficult for the son.

Question 7

Themes:

Answer 7

Protectiveness – He sees his son as vulnerable but understands he can’t protect him forever – he now has to show his love by letting him go.

Loss – There is a sense of pathos but also the understanding that it is a natural part of growing up. It’s not a permanent parting but their relationship is just being redefined.

Reflection – The father is philosophical about the relationship between parents and their children, although his son leaving his protection was painful, he understands that it was necessary for both of them.

Question 8

Compare to:

Answer 8

Mother Any Distance, Before You Were Mine, Eden Rock, Follower, Climbing my Grandfather and When We Two Parted.