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Walking Away by C Day-Lewis - Coggle Diagram
Walking Away by C Day-Lewis
Themes:
Parental Love -> "Love is proved in the letting go" -> The final line of the poem is conclusive and shows how the speaker reaches a place of acceptance. He knows that ‘letting go’ and trusting his child is evidence of his love. The parent’s love for his child is shown in the pain he feels when he realises he has to let the child go.
Separation -> the child begins to move away from the parent when he is young, and the process takes years. -> ‘It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day/ A sunny day with leaves just turning’ -> The speaker remembers a time when the child first moved away from him during a game of football. The ‘leaves just turning’ seem to reflect the change in the relationship, from easier times, to this initial ‘drifting away’.
Nature -> the poet uses images from nature to show that this process of movement and change is played out and echoed all around us -> ‘a half-fledged thing set free/ Into the wilderness’ -> We think of young birds as being ‘half-fledged’ when they are not quite ready to leave the parent bird’s nest. Applying this image to the child reminds the reader that nature also separates parents from their children when the latter reach maturity.
Interpretations (Source BBC Bitesize)
'It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day –'
The parent is dealing with the moment when the child has grown up and no longer needs them. -> The age of eighteen is associated with adulthood in modern western culture. The child is older than eighteen, but by recalling a time ‘eighteen years ago’, the speaker shows us that the child is mature.
The parent finds the separation painful. -> Although this time has passed since the parent first realised that the child would grow away from him, the pain of letting go has not lessened.
‘like a satellite/ Wrenched from its orbit’
For the early stages of its life, the child belongs with the parent. -> A satellite orbits a larger body – for example the Earth. This simile suggests that the child is a small being, attached by gravitational force to the parent.
The parent finds the thought of separation painful. -> The verb ‘wrenched’ implies a difficult and unwanted parting as if force is required to pull them apart.
Form, structure and language
Form and Structure
Written in 4 stanzas
The rhyme scheme is abaca often monosyllabic rhymes (‘day’, ‘play’, ‘away’). This lends a melancholic tone to the poem, as if these feelings are uncomplicated but raw.
The pace of the poem is measured, reflecting the thought processes of the parent. This separation hasn’t happened in a hurry. It is gradual and slow-paced like the poem.
A first-person voice is used, and the persona speaks directly to his child using the personal pronoun ‘you’ which gives the poem a very intimate and moving feel
Language
The poet uses images from nature to show this parting of parents and children. He refers to the ‘leaves just turning’ to ‘a half-fledged thing’ and to ‘a winged seed’. These images suggest that this parting is natural, even if it is difficult.
There are several words used to refer to the separation - ‘wrenched from its orbit’, ‘eddying away’, ‘walking away’ (which is repeated) - showing that this movement away of child from parent is steady and considered.
The word ‘away’ is repeated three times, emphasising the parent’s concern.
Comparisons
Comparison of 'Walking Away' by C Day-Lewis and 'Eden Rock' by Charles Causley
Similarities
Both poems look at the theme of separation of loved ones and focus on love between parents and children.
The poems are written in the first person.
They both have measured, regular stanzas.
They have a steady pace.
Use of images from nature.
Differences
Walking Away is written from a parent to a child. Eden Rock is written from a child to parents.
Walking Away uses direct address. Eden Rock describes parents in the third person.
Walking Away uses a simple rhyme scheme. Eden Rock uses half-rhymes.
Walking Away describes the passing of time. Eden Rock describes a specific incident.
Context
Cecil Day-Lewis was born in 1904 in Ireland, though moved to England with his family when he was very young. He was educated at Oxford and was later elected as Professor of Poetry in 1951. He was also Poet Laureate of England from 1968 until his death in 1972.
His poetry is often romantic and uses nature and personal experience as its themes. His mother died when he was very young and he was brought up by his father, who was a clergyman. Until the age of eight, he was educated at home. He eventually went to Sherborne School in Dorset where he fell in love with Mary King, who was to become his wife in 1928. This marriage dissolved in 1951 and he later married the actress Jill Balcon. He had four children, including the actor Daniel Day-Lewis.
In this poem, Day-Lewis combines imagery from nature and personal experience. The speaker also refers to God, though it is not clear whether this is a Christian concept of a higher power, or some other interpretation. It suggests a distinction between self and god.