eden rock

Question 1

context

Answer 1

• father dies when he was young
• is about him

Question 2

meaning

Answer 2

• speaker introduces his parents
• implying there is a stagnation in time
• the son is separated from them
• speaker is separated from his family by a river and the parents call to the speaker to join them
• ambiguous ending
• speaker has a secure, peaceful and delightful relationship with his parents

Question 3

STRUCTURE

Answer 3

• stable structure until the end
• quatrains

Question 4

STRUCTURE - what does the steady structure do

Answer 4

• peaceful and steady tone
• reflects hwo speaker feel sabout parents
  -> they bring him peace, security adn stability and have a stong steady relatiosnhip

Question 5

STRUCTURE - rhyme scheme

Answer 5

• half rhyme
  -> “dress, stress” ex
  -» incomplete nature of their relationship, not quite perfect
  -» separation of speaker and his parents in the poem
  -» immediacy to the tone of the poem as full rhymes would perhaps make the tone too jovial
• things are lacking = not with his parents

Question 6

STRUCTURE - how does it change

Answer 6

• there is one line broken from the quatrain structure at the end of the poem
  -> literally separated them and reflects the stream
  -> metaphorically could represent gap between life and death
  -» not quite perfect (structure) because they are not together - reflecting on how he is not with them
  -

Question 7

LANGUAGE - vivid descriptions of what his parents are doing

Answer 7

• “HP sauce bottle” and “tin cups”
  -> visual and nostalgic imagery
  -> attention to such minor details reflects how much he loves his parents, he remembers everything about them
  -> helps to ground the poet in his memory
  -> he remembers everything so precisely this image must be important and sacred to him as he remembers details so implies he accesses the memory a lot

Question 8

LANGUAGE - religious imagery

Answer 8

• “Eden” = Adam and eve in the garden of Eden
  -> paradise
  -> intertextual reference of link to genesis
  -» symbol of perfection of the relationship
  -»> he idolised his parents - surreal and angelic, heavenly images

Question 9

LANGUAGE - angleic imagery of the mother wutoes

Answer 9

• “hari the colou rof wheat, takes on the light”
  -> angleic image, like a halo

Question 10

LANGUAGE - natural imagery qutoes

Answer 10

• “rock, straw, grass, wheat, light, sky , sun , stream , sonte, bank”
  -> plethora, overhwleming use of natural imagery relfcts teh natural and beautiful love between the parents and the chidlren

Question 11

LANGUAGE - final line

Answer 11

• “i had not thought that it would eb like this”
  -> monosyllabic
  -» child like simplicity
  -»> deliberate use reflects his desire to be close to his parents again like he was when he was younger
  -> isolate (he didn’t marry) = he is alone, missing parents

Question 12

LANGUAGE - “three suns”

Answer 12

• represetnt eh family triangle - mother, father and speaker
• symbolic o fpurity and the concept of the holy trinity

Question 13

LANGUAGE - “leisurely”

Answer 13

• adverb
• slows down the rhythm o the poem

Question 14

quotes

Answer 14

• “leisurely”
• “three suns””
• “i had not thought it would be like this”
• “rock, straw, grass…”
• ” hair the colour of wheat takes on the light”
• “Eden”
• ## “HP sauce bottle” and “tin cups” and “genuine Irish tweed”