Walking Away – C.
Day Lewis
Parental Love Separation Nature
Poem
The Summary
parent’s love for his child is shown in the Titlechild
The Analysis
begins to move away from the parent Formpoet uses images from nature to show that
The
pain he feels when he realises, he has to let the when he is young, and the process takes years. this process of movement and change is played
A father remembers watching his son play his The title is intentionally vague to intrigue the The poem has a first-person narrator - this
child go. The narrator finally acknowledges that The narrator remembers that “It is eighteen years out and echoed all around us. The narrator
first game of football, possibly on his first day of reader and engage them in the poem’s narrative. emphasises that it’s talking about personal
‘love is proved in the letting go’. The final line of ago, almost to the day/ A sunny day with leaves describes his son as ‘a half-fledged thing set free/
school. The father feels worried about his son as No inclusion of a subject, so there is no hint as to experiences. The use of enjambment and caesura
the poem is conclusive and shows how the just turning”. The speaker remembers a time Into the wilderness’. We think of young birds as
he watches him walk uncertainly away from him. what relationship is being explored. The verb contribute to the poem’s rhythm of the poem,
speaker reaches a place of acceptance. He knows when the child first moved away from him during being ‘half-fledged’ when they are not quite
The memory of that day still deeply affects the “walking” is in the presents tense but doesn’t which sounds like natural speech. The regular
that ‘letting go’ and trusting his child is evidence a game of football. The ‘leaves just turning’ seem ready to leave the parent bird’s nest. Applying
father eighteen years later. However, he comes to convey a concrete place of time. The walk is ABACA rhyme scheme reflects the steadiness of
of his love. to reflect the change in the relationship, from this image to the child reminds the reader that
an understanding that it is a natural process that hesitant, and challenging, it is not a pleasant the father’s parental love, and the repetition of the
easier times, to this initial ‘drifting away’. The nature also separates parents from their children
all parents and children must go through – every walk. “A” rhyme reflects how the memory of that day
violent verb “wrenched” contrasts the peace of when the latter reach maturity. As this occurs in
child must experience the difficult process of continues to affect him years later.
“drifting” and highlights how the speaker has nature, it must be a part of human life as well, as
gaining independence, and every parent must let everything in nature occurs for a reason.
come to accept the separation.
go.
Key
Context
Quotes: Tone
Semantic field Structure
Relationship
Almost
Cecil Dayto the
Lewis’
day. mother
New-ruled.
died when he was very The poem has natural
poet uses a tone of protectiveness
imagery to convey throughout
the In
Thethefather
first two stanzas,
is perhaps the narrator
overly talksofabout
protective his son
young, and he was brought up by his father. His as the father
father’s sees understanding
growing his son as vulnerable,
that his butson the memory. In the final two stanzas,
at the beginning of the poem and struggles to he reflects
Like a satellite wrenched. Drifting away.
poetry is often romantic and uses nature to understands
walking away heiscan’t protect
natural, but him
also forever, and now
that he remains on how the memory
understand where hestill
stand pains him.new
in this The final two
explore personal
Half-fledged experiences.
thing. Wilderness.The poem is about he must show his love for his son
concerned about him. He compares his son toby letting hima lines of the poem
relationship now theform a sort
son of conclusion
is gaining – he
independence.
his first son, Sean, from his first marriage. He gain some independence. There is also
“half-fledged” bird out in the “wilderness”, a feeling understands
Throughout the course the poem, he comes to it
that whilst it was a painful event,
The gait Poet
became of one who finds
Laureate no path
in 1968 where
until the path
his death in of loss and sadness in because
the poem,
illustrating his worry he but also the
believes his son was
termsa necessary part of his son’s development.
with the separation.
should be. poem was published in 1968.
1972. The understanding that “walking away” is a natural
is vulnerable. The poet also uses a semantic field The last stanza is the most regular in line length,
Fire one’s irresolute clay. part of growing
of pain through up. It isverbs
violent not a such
permanent
as parting; suggesting
Compare with the child is beginning to find his feet.
their relationship
“wrenched”, is just being
“scorching” redefined. to
and “Gnaws”, There is
God alone could perfectly show - How selfhood also reflection in the poem Mother any distance: how separation affects
highlight how traumatic theasprocess
the father is the
if for
begins in the walking away And love is proved in philosophical about parent- child relationships, parents
father as well as difficult for the son.
the letting go. separation is painful but necessary. Eden Rock: Memory
