Eden Rock

Question 1

What type of poem is it?

Answer 1

Familial

Question 2

What are the key themes?

Answer 2

1. Distance
2. Parent child relationship
3. Memory
4. Death

Question 3

Key quotes for distance?

Answer 3

“Over the drifted stream.” - full stop emphasises the distance, nature is pushing the family apart, distance between being alive and being dead

Question 4

Key quotes for parent child relationship?

Answer 4

“My mother shades her eyes away and looks at me” - in depth description, remembers exactly what happened, maternal care, looking in awe at the person she raised

Question 5

Key quotes for memory?

Answer 5

“The sky whitens as if lit by three suns” - simile, surreal imagery, heavenly, entrance to heaven and the afterlife, there were three people in the memory and three suns - the sun lights the world and they lit up each others lives, true familial love, memory is coming to an end due to harsh colour, white is pure but harsh, memory is pure but harsh to look back on as it causes pain

Question 6

Key quotes for death?

Answer 6

“Crossing is not as hard as you think” - crossing the line between life and death is easy, made easier by parents and family being there to support the speaker and get him to be with them

Question 7

What is the context behind Eden rock?

Answer 7

Published in 1988, the poem is thought to be autobiographical: he is perhaps talking about his parents
Causley said that he had made-up the location of Eden Rock - it is a dream-like place, and perhaps reflects an idyllic life rather than his actual life.

Question 8

What is the structure and form of Eden rock?

Answer 8

Each line of the poem has ten syllables, and most stanzas have four lines - might reflect the secure
and reliable nature of this parent’s relationship
The first three stanzas present his parents, portraying their idyllic existence
Fourth and fifth stanzas include the speaker as they encourage him to cross
The poem uses half-rhymes to create a gentle, flowing rhythm, adding to the laid back and ethereal tone
Monosyllabic final line is separated and the tone shifts to mundane and disappointment - perhaps his own life failed to reflect this imagined/remembered existence

Question 9

What is the meaning and purpose of Eden rock?

Answer 9

The speaker is reminiscing about his parents as a young couple, as they picnic by a stream - it is written
in the present tense to make the memory seem real
They live a simple but happy life; conveying the importance of family and how wealth is not important
They encourage him to cross the stream towards them, possibly symbolising his birth or his death as he
joins them in the next life: “Crossing is not as hard as you might think”

Question 10

What is the tone of Eden rock?

Answer 10

Light
Ethereal
Nostalgic