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 is reminiscing on his son’s first game of football, it’ssuggested this is on his first day of school. He is clearly anxious about his son leaving, he feels like it will be very out of the ordinary. He eventually concludes the poem with realising that letting his son go is a good thing.

Question 4

Who is the poem dedicated to? How is this significant?

Answer 4

His eldest son, Sean. This could mean letting his family go is an unfamiliar experience for him.

Question 5

Describe the form of the poem

Answer 5

The poem is written in first person, which shows how personal it is. The enjabement and caesura suggest that it is spoken very naturally, and that it is his raw feelings.

Question 6

What does the rhythm of the poem suggest?

Answer 6

The ABACA rhyme shows the steadiness of the father’s parental love, and that it doesn’t change despite his son leaving.

Question 7

Describe the structure of the poem

Answer 7

The first two stanzas focus on Lewis’ memories of his son. The last two stanzas focus on how he is accepting the loss and appreciating what he still has.

Question 8

How is natural imagery used in the poem?

Answer 8

It shows that the father’s growing understanding for his son leaving is natural, but he still remains quite concerned, seen in the phrase “A half-fledged thing set free into the wilderness”.

Question 9

How is language about pain used in the poem?

Answer 9

The violent language such as “wrenched”, “scorching” and “gnaws” all show that it was a negative experience for the father and maybe even the son.

Question 10

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

Answer 10

The poet remembers the exact date of this memory, which suggests it is so important to him that it stuck with him all that time.

Question 11

What is the significance of “leaves just turning” (line 2)?

Answer 11

The transition between summer and autumn could suggest the transitional period in the son’s life

Question 12

What is implied through “touch-lines new-ruled” (line 3)?

Answer 12

A new line has been drawn between the son and the father as the son grows more independant

Question 13

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

Answer 13

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 14

What does the use of “wrenched” show about the father’s feelings towards his son’s exit?

Answer 14

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 15

What is the significance of the enjambment between “away” (line 5) and “behind” (line 6)?

Answer 15

It shows there is a change in focus as the son moves further and further away into the crowd.

Question 16

What does the description “half-fledged” (line 8) suggest about the father’s feelings of his son going to school?

Answer 16

The bird metaphor shows the writer’s concerns about his son going to school, and his reluctance to let him go

Question 17

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

Answer 17

His father worries that the school could be potentially dangerous and he feels he can’t be there to protect him

Question 18

What does “One who finds no path where the path should be” suggest?

Answer 18

This emphasizes how the father is desperate for his son to find his way in life, but can’t help see him as helpless. It also suggests that his son has previously relyed on his father for help and shows how close they are.

Question 19

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

Answer 19

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 20

What is the significance of “Like a winged seed loosened from it’s parent stem”?

Answer 20

It shows a shift in perspective; it contrasts line 5, as “loosened” is a much gentler term than “wrenched”. The verb “loosened” also suggests that the son is not fully detaching, showing that their relationship will stay intact. The similie is also significant because the “winged seed” reflects that the son could ‘fly’ in any direction.

Question 21

What does the word “scorching” (line 14) suggest about the writer’s feelings on growing up?

Answer 21

The pain imagery suggests that the writer thinks it is a negative and painful experience.

Question 22

What does the writer mean when he says “the scorching ordeals which fire one’s clay”(line 15)?

Answer 22

The same way fire turns clay into a pot, some painful experiencses can turn children into powerful and independant adults

Question 23

What does the verb “gnaws” (Line 17) suggest?

Answer 23

The language is both animalistic and vicious, showing that the writer is still shaken from seeing his son go through the painful experiences of growing up.

Question 24

How is “Selfhood begins with a walking away // And love is proved in the letting go” (Lines 19 and 20) significant?

Answer 24

The message of the poem slightly changes as the father begins to cope with his son leaving. The rhythm becomes more steady, showing the father’s steadiness in his desicion.