Walking away Flashcards
Juxtaposition - Active word compared to a passive word shows views of the Father compared to the Son
Son’s life revolves around the Father
“Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away”
Metaphor - Compares his son to a young bird which isn’t ready to leave the nest
“Half fledged thing set free”
He has to let his son go but isn’t ready himself (childish)
“How selfhood begins with a walking away”
Metaphor - God gave him his son but now he is being taken away from him
“Nature’s give and take”
Semantic field of heat - Suggest the son is moulding his life without his Father
“Fire ones irresolute clay”
Context
-Written a year before his second son was born
-Big age gap between sons
-Sent his son to boarding school
Links to other poems
Mother any distance - Letting your child go
Neutral tones - Melancholy attitudes towards love
