Eden Rock - Quotes Flashcards
(3 cards)
“they are waiting for me from somewhere beyond Eden Rock”
1 - “they” connotes to multiple people, may not only just be his parents but reference to the mass of people in the afterlife - ambiguous in its meaning - compounded by the “3 plates” biblical reference to 3, he believes his parents have transcended
2 - compounded by the biblical reference to “Eden”, connotes to ideas of paradise alike to heaven - his parents are unified in heaven
3 - verb “waiting” implies patience and love, and not urgency and fear - portrays death as not an abrupt end but a reuinification - deeply comforting perspective on the view of death.
“tweed suit” and “white cloth”
1 - “white gloth” associated with ghosts on halloween - they are literal spirital presences - dog “trembles” at his feet - presence of supernatural
2 - he places them in the outdated clothing of their time - preserving them in their youthful elements to help him comfort of their passing - accompanied by “twenty-three” - he chooses such a young age to make the reality of the present less crippling.
3 - white cloth evokes imagery of the Last Supper - clothe used to dine and therefore carries a religious undertone. The moment is more than just a memory, yet a sacred encounter with the divine hinting him to come to the afterlife - his parents are in a better place?
4 - links to “crossing is not as hard as you think” - River Styx, crossing the river leads you to the afterlife - the idea of this myth may suggest that this is rooted in his fantasy
“I had not thought it would be like this”
1 - ambigiuous in its meaning - perhaps mirrors the ambuiguity around death - even to someone nearing it, it allows the reader to reflect on their own expectations of mortality
2 - childlike vulnerability - somewhat of a child’s inner thoughts or voice. Speaker ha sregressed emotionally throughout the poem from knowing his parents, and now longs to be a child again where his mum was “23” and his dad in a “tweed suit”
