Poem 7 - Cecil Day Lewis - Walking Away

Question 1

When was the poem published?

Answer 1

1962

Question 2

When was the poet alive?

Answer 2

1904-1972

Question 3

What is the poem about?

Answer 3

A father remembering his son play his first game of football, possibly on his first day of school, he is worried about his son as he watches him walk uncertainly away and the memory still affects him deeply but he has come to understand that this was natural and eventually all parents must let their children go.

Question 4

Who was the poem dedicated to?

Answer 4

The poet’s eldest son, Sean.

Question 5

When was the poet Poet Laureate?

Answer 5

1968-1972

Question 6

Describe the form of the poem.

Answer 6

The poem uses first-person narration to emphasise how personal the experience was, the use of enjambment and caesura create a natural rhythm that sounds like normal speech.

Question 7

Describe the rhyme scheme and what it suggests.

Answer 7

The poet uses a regular ABACA rhyme scheme to reflect the steadiness of the father’s parental love, the repetition of the ‘A’ rhyme is used to emphasise how the memory continues to affect him years.

Question 8

Describe the structure of the poem.

Answer 8

The first two stanzas talk about the memory, whereas in the last two stanzas the narrator talks about how the memory is still painful and how he has reconciled over time with having to let go.

Question 9

How is natural imagery used in the poem?

Answer 9

The natural imagery shows the father’s growing understanding that his son walking away is natural, but he still remains concerned, comparing to a “half-fledged thing” (Line 8) in the “wilderness” (Line 9), which shows he sees his child as vulnerable.

Question 10

How is language about pain used in the poem?

Answer 10

The use of violent verbs such as “Wrenched” (Line 5), “scorching” (Line 14) and “Gnaws” (Line 17) all show how traumatic the experience was for the father and possibly his son.

Question 11

What is the significance of “almost to the day” (Line 1)?

Answer 11

The poet remembers the exact day, this suggests the memory was so important that the date has stuck with him ever since.

Question 12

What is suggested by “the leaves just turning,” (Line 2)?

Answer 12

The transition from summer to autumn may reflect the transitional period in the son’s childhood.

Question 13

What is implied by “touch-lines new-ruled” (Line 3)?

Answer 13

It reflects how new lines are being drawn between the father and son as the son grows more independent.

Question 14

What is the significance of “like a satellite” (Line 4) and “go drifting away” (Line 5)?

Answer 14

The negative simile demonstrates how wrong it feels to the father to let go, satellites aren’t meant to drift out of orbit, and he wishes he could stop his son going too, reflecting how the father is no longer the centre of the child’s world and no longer ‘orbits’ him.

Question 15

What does the use of “Wrenched” (Line 5) show the reader about the father’s feelings about his son growing independent?

Answer 15

He finds it painful, the enjambment from Line 4 into “Wrenched” is unexpected and emphasises how sudden and painful his son becoming independent was for the narrator.

Question 16

Why has the writer used enjambment between “away” (Line 5) and “Behind” (Line 6)?

Answer 16

The enjambment between the two stanzas reflects a change in focus as the son further and further from him and disappears into the crowd.

Question 17

What does the description of “half-fledged” (Line 8) tell the reader about the narrator’s opinions about his son going to school?

Answer 17

The bird metaphor shows the father’s concerns over whether his son is ready to start school, and his reluctance to let him go.

Question 18

What does describing the school as “a wilderness” (Line 9) suggest about the father’s opinions on his son going to school?

Answer 18

The metaphor suggests that he believes the school could be potentially dangerous and he worries that he cannot be there to protect his son.

Question 19

What is suggested by “finds no path where the path should be.” (Line 10)?

Answer 19

The repetition of path emphasises how the father is desperate for his son to find the ‘right way’ in life and can’t help but see him as helpless.

Question 20

Why is “eddying” (Line 11) used to describe the son’s movement through the crowd?

Answer 20

The natural imagery reflects the movement of the winds and currents, suggesting that the son is uncertain and has a lack of control over his destination, reinforcing that the son is naturally drawn to becoming more independent and drifting further from his dad.

Question 21

What is significant about “Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem,” (Line 12)?

Answer 21

It demonstrates a shift in perspective in the farther, the natural imagery of the plant contrasts the satellite imagery in Lines 4 and 5, “loosened” (Line 12) is much more gentle than “Wrenched” (Line 5), this shows how over time the father has come to terms somewhat with the fact that he had to let go of his son so he could become independent.

Question 22

What does “scorching” (Line 14) suggest about the father’s opinions on growing up?

Answer 22

The pain imagery shows how the father believes that growing up is a difficult and painful experience.

Question 23

What does the narrator mean when they say “Ordeals that fire one’s irresolute clay.” (Line 15)?

Answer 23

That just as fire turns clay into a pot, the sometimes painful experience of growing up turn children into functioning and independent people.

Question 24

What is suggested by the use of “Gnaws” (Line 17)?

Answer 24

The imagery is both animalistic and vicious and shows that the father is still affected by seeing his son go through the difficult process of growing up.

Question 25

What is meant by “what God alone can perfectly show-“ (Line 19)?

Answer 25

The religious imagery references how in the bible god sent Jesus, his son, to earth and in many ways let go of his son the same way the narrator does. However, after God lets go of Jesus, Jesus is crucified. It is stated that God did this to show humans that he loves them. That “God alone” could do this shows how hard it is for the narrator to let go of his son.

Question 26

How is “How selfhood begins with a walking away// And love is proved in the letting go.” (Lines 19 and 20) significant, what does this mean?

Answer 26

The change to a more steady rhythm underlines how the father has come to a philosophical understanding- that his son has to walk away from him to find his own identity, and the father proves his love for his son in letting go of him.